The festive season has officially arrived at Romford Shopping Hall, with the Christmas Shop replacing Inprints T-Shirt Printers on the ground floor.
The shop stocks cards, wrapping paper, gift boxes, bags and even Santa hats.
While the store opened on October 22, footfall has picked up as more people get into “Christmas mode”, owner Ian Gatward explained.
Normally, his business specialises in selling greeting and birthday cards to shops, but he thought he would “give it a try” running a Christmas-themed shop.
Ian told the Recorder: “I used to know Graham, who had the card shop [at Romford Shopping Hall], and he was a good friend of mine.
“I know he packed up, so I thought I’d give it a try, see how we could do here.
“So far people like all the bags and they are saying it’s cheap.”
READ MORE: Americans donate to Romford church’s poppy display after viral Tiktok posts
Although the store is only a pop-up at the moment, Ian said he hopes to continue running it after the Christmas period, with a focus on greeting cards.
“Maybe if it goes alright we are going to give birthdays a try,” Ian said.
“We are definitely going to open a card shop but it’s just a matter of how it progresses really.”
The Christmas Shop has joined a number of new businesses to open at Romford Shopping Hall in recent weeks.
