Simply Argan opens for business

Promotional Feature

Plans for Grove One Retail & Business Centre were revealed just a few weeks ago, on wilmslow.co.uk, and it can be reported that the first tenant of Grove One, Simply Argan, has opened for business. As a special opening promotion, Simply Argan are giving away a free bottle of their FND (Face Neck & Décolletage) Intensive Rejuvenation Oil (£29) with every purchase, to the first 100 customers!

Simply Argan have transformed half of the ground floor, occupied previously by the Royal Bank of Scotland, into a smart and stylish beauty and cosmetics boutique. Their core product is argan oil, which Simply Argan imports direct from Morocco, where the world's last remaining argan forest survives; now protected as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve due to the unique and special properties of argan oil being internationally recognised.

Argan oil is renowned for its anti-ageing properties and has been widely available and used on the continent and in the US for many years. However, when Simply Argan was formed, just over six years ago, it was virtually unheard of in the UK. Simply Argan's founder, Darren Smith, came across the oil by a chance last minute trip to Morocco. After discovering it and finding that virtually nowhere was selling it in the UK he decided to start importing the oil and Simply Argan was born.

Simply Argan has traded almost exclusively online for the last six years but it was the success of their online business that prompted them to open their first shop.

Commenting on the opening Darren explained "This is a big step and investment for us. However, we believe that the risk is significantly mitigated due to the success of our business online. We know that our products are much loved by our customers because of the high level of repeat business.

"We see that the challenge, just as we had when we started trading online, is educating and informing the local population of Wilmslow, and surrounding areas, as to the cosmetic benefits of argan oil and argan oil based products. Although argan oil is now widely available on the internet in the UK (although much of it is poor quality or mixed with cheaper carrier oils) it is still difficult to find on the high street and so many people, although having heard of it, are not quite sure what it is, or used for.

"However, the task is made much easier by the fact that people start seeing results very soon after using the oil and so we expect word of mouth to spread fast, just as it did with online trading. Starting from scratch in 2010 we sold over 20,000 bottles of argan oil in the first 12 months of trading and that was largely due to word of mouth referrals, which, as anybody in marketing will tell you, is the best form of customer acquisition."

Darren went on to explain the timing of the opening "We are still awaiting planning approval for the new shop front, which, even if all goes well, will not be until the end of November. We therefore decided to do a pre-Christmas opening as we did not want to miss the festive trading period, given our products make perfect gifts and because we have some fabulous gift sets for him and her. If all goes to plan we will close again next year, if we get consent for the new shop front."

Known in Morocco as liquid gold, due to its amazing properties and value, argan oil has many uses in addition to its more well-known anti-aging properties. Its uses include treating acne, stretch marks, scars, psoriasis, rosacea, dry skin and lips, dry and damaged hair and dry and brittle nails, to list but a few of its many uses.

What makes this oil so versatile is the special combination of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. Argan oil is extremely rich in vitamins, anti-oxidants and essential fatty acids and is unrivalled by any natural and manmade product with its unique composition. It is rich in tocopherols (vitamin E, which is essential for the skin), phenols, carotenes, squalene, and fatty acids. The main natural phenols in argan oil are caffeic acid, oleuropein, vanillic acid, tyrosol, catechol, resorcinol, (−)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin.

It is also this unique blend of natural, rare and essential components that makes argan oil work anti-ageing wonders by nourishing and moisturising the skin whilst containing no artificial colouring, preservatives or perfumes.

Ageing skin and wrinkles are due to failure of the skin to produce adequate collagen and a weakening of the elastin. Argan oil improves the elasticity of the skin making it more supple and smoother. In turn, this helps reduce the appearance of ageing and wrinkles which Simply Argan have cannily exploited with their logo tag line "Turn Back Time".

Having said all of that, Simply Argan do urge a note of caution to consumers. They explain that argan oil is very labour intensive to produce and is a rare commodity making it expensive. To get the price down many unscrupulous traders will dilute argan oil with other much cheaper carrier oils. Worse still, some oils, sold as argan oil, do not contain any argan oil. Simply Argan say that they have gone to great lengths to obtain the finest and purest quality organic argan oil. They have visited Morocco many times and test every batch imported in an independent UK laboratory and they publish the test analysis results on their website. They provide each bottle of argan oil they sell with a certificate of quality and purity giving the details of the laboratory that tested it.

Simply Argan also sell a range of other products, all containing their finest organic argan oil. They have a wide range including hair, face, body and a mens' range and they have recently had accolades with some of their products being shortlisted in the 2016 Pure Beauty Awards, a highly-regarded industry mark of distinction.

Call in their shop, you won't be disappointed. And hurry to get your free bottle of FND (Face Neck & Décolletage) Intensive Rejuvenation Oil.

Simply Argan is also stocked in Fenwick in London and Arighi Bianchi.

What's in a name?

Some have commented that the name Grove One Retail & Business Centre is peculiar as the street numbers are even on that side of the street. The property is owned by RJS Capital Limited which is also owned by Darren Smith, who explained "When we purchased the building off RBS they were using the address 1 Grove Street and it was sold to us as that. Indeed, the Land Registry also had it registered as that too and had done so for many decades. However, following our purchase the Land Registry decided that they had made a mistake and that the correct address should be 2 Grove Street. By that time we had already invested tens of thousands of pounds in packaging and marketing material for Simply Argan using the address 1 Grove Street. Cheshire East Council, who are responsible for street numbers, confirmed to us that there is no other property with the address 1 Grove Street on their official register (the other side of the street officially starting at number 3 to add to the confusion) and agreed to allow to us use the address 1 Grove Street, in the circumstances. So, the name is just a result of an accident made at the Land Registry, many moons ago!"

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