The high street is always home to some big name brands but it’s also where you can find some fabulous one-offs.

In appreciation of this, the Leader is putting the spotlight on local businesses throughout July as part of Independent Retailer Month.

Meet today’s trader...

Name: Aaron Purvor

Business: Geckos

Location: 16 Bank Street, Wrexham

Telephone: 01978 265082

Opening Hours: 10am-4.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday

When did you open and why?

The store opened in March of 2017, so we’re approaching our two-and-a-half-year anniversary. I found myself in a position where I had the chance to open up my own business, so I just thought why not? The opportunity presented itself, so I took it. I’ve loved every minute of it so far, it’s been great.

The Leader:

Why did you open in this location?

This shop is one of the very few in the whole of Wrexham town centre where rates do not apply due to its size.

If a shop floor and storerooms are small enough, then they can be exempt from business rates, so that makes it much cheaper to run it.

The Leader:

Tell us about your business...

We sell a lot of different things here, mainly pop culture merchandise, but we also have games, toys, Pokemon cards, all the kind of stuff that kids love and would willingly spend their pocket money on.

What’s your most memorable/proudest moment in business?

There isn’t any day or moment that stands out most in terms of being memorable, but what I can say is that it’s such a great feeling to see people come in and get excited about seeing the things that we sell. Kids lose their minds in here sometimes wanting to buy all the stuff we have.

The Leader:

I genuinely think I’m one of the few people in this town who love coming to work every morning and love what I do every day.

Have you had any strange requests?

We sell pop culture merchandise, so yes, strange requests come at us on a weekly basis.

One of the things that always stands out in my mind though is on our very first day, a lady came in and asked if we knew anywhere in the town centre that sells Pokemon stuff, when our entire shop is littered with Pokemon cards and merch!