Three former Woolworths directors have laid out their plans for the launch of a retail chain, borne out of the now-defunct high street variety store business.

Former head of commercial Tony Page, commercial director Steve Jebson and head of stores and concessions Andy Latham met with ex-colleagues and contacts yesterday to form the new business.

Jebson said 10 staff would be employed this month and a further 10 in April in roles across buying, finance, supply chain and property.

The ex-Woolworths staff to be taken on did not hold director-level positions at the defunct variety store retailer, but are ex-store managers, area managers and buyers.

The head office will be located in the Slough area as it is “the cheapest in terms of location”, according to Jebson, who described the operation as “very slim and therefore very cheap”.

He added: “The challenge is to remain simple and lean. Woolworths was a very large organisation. We don’t want to replicate that. We’ll reduce the emphasis on entertainment and concentrate on homewares, pic ’n’ mix and toys.”

Jebson said they are yet to settle on a name for the chain but confirmed it will be “nothing like Woolworths”. He said: “It will state exactly what we’re about, which is delivering families great value. It will be very straightforward.”

54 sites have been identified but they are yet to sign for their first store as they want to get a brand name registered first.

The trio will all be partners at the company and this week had their business plan approved by their investor – an entrepreneur without any previous interests in retail – who has provided£10m of funds.

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