Leyland SDM helped to lift the mood on Blue Monday as we re-launched our Kensington store with giveaways, competitions and a donation to a local homeless charity.

Leyland has cut the ribbon on its High Street store after significant investment. New product ranges have also been added to give customers the best possible shopping experience. 

Customers enjoyed free food and chances to win prizes, while Glass Door benefited from a £1,000 donation to help with its work supporting homeless people in West London and Kensington, particularly as temperatures drop to freezing levels.

The re-launch coincided with Blue Monday, which is said to be the most depressing day of the year due to the time since Christmas, weather conditions and average debt levels of the population following the festive period.

CEO Martin Hastings said: “We are delighted to unveil our completely refreshed Kensington store. We have spent considerable time and money in bringing new ideas to this store, which will be of significant benefit to our customers and colleagues.

“We have plans for further investment in our 33 stores as the year progresses as we continue on our trajectory of growth across London.

“Blue Monday can be a miserable day but I think we helped to spread a bit of cheer with coffee and food served as part of the grand re-opening, as well as a host of games and prizes.

“It’s also a fantastic privilege to support Glass Door, which does such valuable work helping the homeless community in and around Kensington. They money we have donated will make a real difference to people in their time of need.”

Glass Door partners with churches and community centres to give shelter and support to the homeless. Its work includes a day centre at HTB Queen's Gate.

Paloma Fraser-Prynne Guzman, Fundraising Officer at Glass Door, said: “We are extremely grateful to Leyland for this generous donation, which will be used wisely to help some of the borough’s most needy.

“Our Kensington day centre offers people a place to go to have a shower and a hot drink. These funds will allow us to continue our work there and also to buy a number of sleeping bags which are much-needed for those living on the streets.

“We wish Leyland well in their new-look store.”

The revamped store features a Paint Service with additional tills so tradespeople in a hurry don’t need to queue behind those waiting to mix paint.

There are also new paint mixing machines for two well-loved brands –Johnstone’s paint and Osmo – as well as an enhanced timber range, including planed timber, sheet materials, decorative mouldings and panelling.

In a first for Leyland, the store will also offer customers the chance to order luxury wallpaper from in-store sample books, including ranges from Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Roberto Cavalli, Carrara and Valentin Yudashkin, amongst others.

There will be a wider range of Zinsser products on offer.

Adam Elboraei scooped £500 of Leyland credit on opening day by holding two 5L paint cans aloft for the longest time. He managed an impressive time of 1min 39secs.

There will be more games and chances to win throughout the week, as well as supplier visits and demos.

The Kensington store, close to Kensington Olympia tube station, is open 6.30am to 7pm Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.