Welcome To Cowra, Silly Solly’s!

Cowra is all set to welcome the biggest boost to its retail scene in many years, with discount variety store Silly Solly’s ready to open its doors.

Located on the bottom floor of the old Target building on Kendal Street, Silly Solly’s will be filling a major hole in Cowra’s main street, since Target closed its doors in August last year.

It has been a long 14 months without a major retailer on the main street, but locals will be able to shop for their everyday needs at Silly Solly’s soon, with the store opening tomorrow. Franchisee Lisa Toohey-Bott, who owns two other Silly Solly’s stores in western Sydney, said she decided to invest in Cowra to fill some clear voids in the local retail economy.

“I wanted to expand and look for a regional town that would embrace the concept, and I found Cowra,” she said.

“I stayed here for a couple of nights and asked someone, ‘where is your Officeworks?’, and they said ‘we don’t have anything like that here’, so I have aimed to fill the gaps Cowra has.”

“I have learned the Cowra community was very disappointed about losing Target, and is very passionate about getting another major retailer to town.” The Silly Solly’s motto is ‘nothing over $5’, with all products priced at $5 or under, however Lisa said it was not like the former $2 Shop retailer.

“We are a discount variety store and stock high quality products from major brands, but we just price them cheaper than other retailers,” she said.

“Our business model works on lower margins but higher turnover, and with the cost of living rising so much I think that is very important.”

Lisa said Silly Solly’s franchisees have the freedom of selecting their own product range, which meant she could stock the store with items needed in or relevant to Cowra.

The store will feature many sections that will have locals covered for their entire household, including seasonal products (e.g. Christmas items), large book , party and stationery sections, promotional items, wool, art and craft, pet accessories for dogs, cats, birds and aquarium, gardening, storage, homewares, kitchen, cleaning, personal care, toys, electronics, frozen food and confectionary. The store will create 12-15 new local jobs.

Cowra local Jayson Penman will take on the role of Store Manager More about Silly Solly’s:

• 10,000 products, nothing over $5 under one roof.
• A retailer who is customer obsessed.
• A clear strategy for future growth – up to 100 stores in a few years.
• Shops in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.

• Topics:
• Local Ecomony / Business