~ Valerie McGarrell wins grand prize ~
PHILIPSBURG–Thousands of excited and emotional shoppers flocked to Cost U Less for its grand opening on Saturday, which management said exceeded its expectations.
A large number of persons had shown up at the store from very early to be amongst the first to enter when it opened its doors for 8:00am. The store opened with the traditional ribbon cutting and prayer and by making a benevolent gesture by giving a donation of US $1,500 to I Can Foundation children’s home.
After the official opening the large crowd estimated to be between 700 and 1,000 persons pushed and shoved to enter the store to be amongst the first to be inside. “It was like a black Friday sale. Persons were shoving like crazy,” one staff member told The Daily Herald. Several scuffles almost broke out as customers pushed and shoved to get inside. Once inside the queue to get to the cash register was also long, snaking all the way through the aisles of the store.
The number of vehicles headed to Cost U Less and trying to enter the premises resulted in traffic jams leading all the way to the AJC Brouwer Road and the gas station in Madame Estate practically all day. The traffic was so bad that persons started parking elsewhere including near the sports field located behind the store and walking over to the establishment.
Cost U Less did its utmost to keep patrons happy and comfortable once they were inside. There were lots of treats given away to customers throughout the day including fresh fruit samples, juices and other beverages, meatballs, sausages and other delicacies.
Customers had a chance to win a gift every hour on the hour. A total of 13 prizes were given away. The grand prize of a 65-inch television was won by regular Cost U Less shopper Valerie McGarrell, who said she couldn’t miss the reopening of one of her favourite stores.
Additionally, more than 2,000 party bags were given out to children who went shopping with their parents.
Cost U Less Store Manager Lawson Kilgallen told this newspaper that the reopening had been “fantastic.” He said the store was thankful to be able to reopen and he credited workers and residents for “working hard” to “bring this all together.”
“It’s been a very long year. I think we have exceeded our expectations as well as our customers’. Everyone is very excited and we are very thankful. We think it’s very terrific to bring this all together.”
He said the store is equipped with a brand new, stronger, hurricane proof roof as well as a sturdy steel structure. He could not give an indication as to the cost of rebuilding the store, but he said it was a “big” figure.
“It was not just replacing the building, it’s stronger than ever and it has more features than ever to withstand another storm, should that happen. The building isn’t completely done. There is still some construction that will take place. And there are still programmes that we haven’t introduced as yet because we ran so hard under a brand new roof to get opened today, that it is not quite 100 per cent. So you will see new things coming in the next several weeks and months, such as additional programmes in our bakery and in freezer, additional branding of merchandise that we are bringing.”
He said the store will feature a larger selection and better value for customers with products from parts of the United States and Canada. The store is staffed by 60 persons including its pre-Irma team coupled with some new hires. The manager said the opening has “put a pep in their step.”
Cost U Less has resumed its pre-Hurricane Irma opening hours and now opens from 8:00am to 9:00pm from Mondays to Saturdays and from 8:00am to 6:00pm on Sundays.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/80199-thousands-of-shoppers-flock-to-cost-u-less-for-grand-opening
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