Clas Ohlson

Clas Ohlson, a Swedish company which was founded in 1918, opened up in Kingston on December 3rd where Woolworths used to operate.

I hadn't heard of Clas Ohlson prior to its opening, and, seeing as my experience with Swedish companies is pretty much limited to Ikea, suppose that the business model they follow is quite similar. It's like an Argos or a Maplin except with the Scandinavian touch. This place sells pretty much everything, from cookware to fan heaters to coffee filters to kitchen serviettes to electric toothbrushes to headphones and speakers to... you get the idea. You definitely wouldn't expect the range of things they sell given it looks rather small from the outside. I joked with one of the staff that they must have had years of training before the store opened just so that they could remember where everything was.

On that note, if you have any problems looking for things, there're store catalogues throughout the store, as well as an information counter which can direct you to the relevant section of the store.

Ikea's known as one of those stores you go to intending to buy something and coming out with loads of other stuff. From my one visit to Clas Ohlson, I think this place will definitely have the same effect on visitors to the store.