WITH a presence in Warrington since 2003 located on the outskirts of the town, Nice ‘n’ Naughty made the decision to relocate to a more prominent area of the town and to completely overhaul our business model in 2019.
This decision to relocate to Sankey Street was initially met with some local objection as an adult shop on the High Street was not to everyone’s liking, but as a company, working with the local council, builders and traders the shop front was in keeping with other local businesses, the signage was discreet, while the window displays have been kept classy and beautiful ensuring inclusivity for all.
Online Business development Manager Trish Murray said: “Our doors were due to open just as Covid 19 hit the UK and although we did manage to trade for a few short days prior to going into lockdown it was not the grand launch we had planned for.
“Forced closure before you have opened your doors properly was a huge blow to us, as it was to so many local businesses, but we knew that we needed to ensure that we protected our staff who are all Warrington born and bred with families to care for and this was our priority.
“We were lucky enough, via our website, which is also based in Warrington, to remain accessible online during the pandemic offering home delivery across the country and we tried to brighten the mood and keep a positive outlook for our followers across our Social Media platforms.
“At the same time, we took this as an opportunity to take the website through its own transition, by productively focusing our energies on redeveloping and relaunching it, with the help of another local business ensuring that we supported those around us.
Trish added: “When we were able to open our doors back in June 2020, it was great to see customers old and new in the store and although many people we saw were understandably wary of the new rules that Covid 19 had brought with it, they also were happy to be able to exercise their re-established freedom to interact and communicate in person. Staff and customer safety were paramount, and we followed the guidance to the letter to ensure that everyone who stepped through our doors was protected.
“The subsequent lockdowns were met with the same mentality as the first, focusing our energies on staff health and wellbeing. We held weekly quizzes, a virtual annual awards party as Covid restrictions meant we were unable to get together as we would have liked and we sent positive daily messages to each other as we are more than work colleagues, we are a family.”
Trish added: “Nice ‘n’ Naughty find themselves today in a great position as they have positive, strong, and loyal staff who have ensured that we were able to grow, even whilst our shop doors were closed, and we are very proud to have survived and be trading when so many businesses were not that lucky.
“We know that no one would ever fit-out and open a shop if they knew that a lockdown could be implemented and they then couldn’t trade, but there are so many positives that we have been able to take from this experience that we have questioned would we change it? We have seen Nice ‘n’ Naughty flourish and although we lost sales you cannot put a price on the health and well being of the team as they are the cogs that keep the Nice ‘n’ Naughty machine running and we will be forever grateful to them for everything they did to support us during that time.”
