Everything at a (very low) price (Matalan)

Member Name: Trix1212

Product:	Matalan
Date:	25/01/09 (101 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, cheerful and surpringly good quality clothing

Disadvantages: A rather confusing message about their card scheme

When I heard that a new branch of Matalan was opening locally I was really pleased - I'd only visited one a few times previously and knew that they had a great range of (very) cheap but quite nice clothes, kitchenware and were one of the few places where I had managed to also pick up cheap but good quality bras in my size (I'm sure that many ladies will agree that if you are at all out of a very narrow range of bra/cup combinations then it is not easy to find something nice at a reasonable price!).

Matalan, for those who don't know, stock a good range of quite nice clothing at really cheap prices (jeans for £10, tops for £3/6, basic 'joggy-bottoms' for £6) and the occasional nice skirt or swimsuit. In contrast to many other cheap shops I find that their clothing fits well (especially impressive for me are the jeans as I am quite short and really hate low slung waists!) and lasts for ages so everyday wear and work clothes are well worth the money. They also have a great kitchen/home department and I've bought items like duvet sets, cushions, saucepans... the list goes on, and I've never had a problem with anything.

I do have a twinge of conscience when buying anything this cheap and am really not sure where Matalan sources their items or what their policy is on checking the treatment of workers in their source factories. This is something I usually (eventually) look into as I do hate the thought of getting a bargain at somebody else's expense and am wary of buying lots of easy, disposable, items for this reason.

One other source of irritation with Matalan is their card scheme. I've no objection to loyalty/discount card schemes in general and will occasionally sign up to one that I feel might be of benefit. But I've never bothered with a Matalan one and have shopped at several of their stores (including my local one) with no problems at all. Until last year when I called into the Carmarthen branch and was told at the tills that I could not pay without one. I strongly objected to being told to get one in this way when it certainly has not been necessary to have one in any of the other stores I have ever used and I almost walked out without anything at all. I was, in the end and very grudgingly, served without a card and I still don't use one to this day. I definitely think that Matalan need to get this cleared up and to give the same message to all their staff and customers as they do seem to have different ideas on this in many of their stores.

That small irritation aside though I do find them great value for money and, while I don't shop very often for clothes, I do usually find what I want there. Decent quality at a good price.

Summary: A nice place to shop, a good range