A RETAILER has opened two new stores in Basildon just metres away from each other but insists there is “method to their madness”. 

Manjit Dabhi and Pruthvi Dabhi are the owners of both Nisa Express stores that have opened their doors on Timberlog Lane. 

Despite some shoppers being confused by the identically-named shops, but Mr Dabhi insists it makes perfect sense, with one site focused on groceries and the other trading as an off-licence. 

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He said: “The unit was operating as an off-licence but was quite run down.

“When it became available, I knew that if someone else got in there and developed it, the competition could pose me with some real difficulties and so I stepped in.

“It is a little bit inconvenient for shoppers to have to leave one shop and go to the other, but they are just a few metres away from one another.

“It means we can offer a good range in both shops rather than having to compromise.”

The grocery store, which incorporates a Post Office counter, was already supplied by Nisa but operated with an independent fascia.

The development has seen the existing store take on the Nisa Express fascia and the range has been refined.

Meanwhile the new unit has been fitted out to match with the Nisa Express fascia and an impressive range of soft drinks and alcohol .

Mr Dabhi, who has a further two stores trading with Nisa, said: “We did not sell alcohol before and so we have made the most of the new store to do this and it is going the right way.

“We hope shoppers get used to how we operate and see the range we have available.”

Mr Dabhi had owned a shop in the parade of businesses in Timberlog Lane, but took the decision to begin trading as a Nisa Express. 

When the other shop several doors down was put on the market, he saw it as a perfect opportunity to take it on and bring it under the same branding.