Comet hits Paisley with high-tech store

Electrical retailer, Comet, is to open a US-style 'destination store' in Scotland.

The shop, located in Paisley, just outside Glasgow, will have over 4,000 items of stock on display, so the public can pick up and try products before buying.

Comet MD, Joe Riordan, said: "We have everything on display. If you want to listen to one of the CDs or watch a DVD, you just scan in the barcode and it plays. Lots of customers want to come into a store and try stuff, but in a typical shop, most of the stock is kept under glass."

Riordan also said that customers need better trained staff as products get more complex and "interrelated". He said the store will combat the threat of the Internet by offering "added value".

£60,000 has been spent on training the 59 staff. They will not be paid on a commission basis, but will have the pleasure of starting each day by singing a "Paisley chant".

Comet said it aims to set up a total of about 50 such stores, with the next opening in Reading. They will sell an expanded inventory including 20 PCs and eight laptops, along with peripherals and software.