In a major coup for the city's retail precinct, one of Australia's most loved and popular designers, Peter Alexander, has opened its doors in the Central West.
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Fans of the pyjama and loungewear designer lined up early in a bid to be among the first inside the Bathurst store, which is Peter Alexander's first in the region.
Positioned opposite Kmart in the Armada Shopping Centre, Bathurst, the store has been attracting enormous interest for weeks, with shoppers from across the region stoked the company was opening in the area.
In the days leading up to the opening, Armada's centre manager Sandy Matthews said the store would be an "exciting addition" to the retail mix in the shopping complex, "providing customers with a fresh, modern store".
One of those customers was 12-year-old Bella Crawford, who lined up for an hour to be one of the first to enter store.
With the Peter Alexander team making a last-minute decision to begin their launch a day early, Bella was able to capitalise on having the day off school for the King's Birthday long weekend, by spending her morning there.
As part of the celebration, the first 20 customers to find a golden dachshund hidden within the store received a special prize, and Bella managed to move through the masses and hunt down number five.
"It was in the men's clothing; it was hanging up," she said.
"I came in and looked for the golden ticket first and now I'm picking my prize ... I want classic tops."
Having a range of Peter Alexander pyjamas at home, Bella said she is excited to now be able to head into town and shop at the store, rather than online.
Having eagerly waited for a number of weeks, like so many others since hearing the news of the franchise coming to Bathurst, Bella and her friends were ready and waiting for those doors to open.
"I came into town one day and it said 'Peter Alexander coming soon' out the front, so we've been coming in a lot to see when it's opening," she said.
And as for why Bella loves the Peter Alexander brand?
"They last long, they have good sizes and they're very comfy," she said.
The soft launch
With Bathurst being the franchise's only store in the Central West region, it's no wonder that the shop was packed to the brim with customers as soon as the doors opened.
And, with some terrific mid-year sales on, up to 50 per cent off, there was even more of an incentive to visit the store.
Peter Alexander senior visual merchandiser for NSW, Meg Leister, said the number of people waiting when they opened the door exceeded her expectations.
"There's so many people in here today. We knew there'd be a few people in here, but we weren't expecting this many," she said.
"I got here pretty early this morning and there were already girls sitting out the front, then just every time we poked our heads out, the line was getting bigger and bigger."
The celebrations continue
For anyone worried about having missed the soft launch, Ms Leister said not to be concerned, because they still have their hard launch on Tuesday, June 11, which was originally going to be the first day of business.
But, due to the excitement, the team decided to prolong the welcoming party and have a two-day launch.
And, given the response on day one, Ms Leister said opening a store in Bathurst was clearly a great decision.
"It's so exciting, and I guess the people of Bathurst have waited for something like this for a long time, so it's really nice to finally get Peter Alexander out here," she said.
Amy Rees
Journalist at the Western Advocate in Bathurst since May, 2021.
Journalist at the Western Advocate in Bathurst since May, 2021.
