Edinburgh-based VPZ - the 'UK’s largest vaping retailer' - unveils further expansion taking UK store total to 200

Scotland among locations included in latest expansion push.

Director Doug Mutter said: 'Our plans to open 23 new stores by the middle of the year reflect our ambition to help more smokers take the first steps on their quit journey.' Picture: contributed.

A business based on the outskirts of Edinburgh that says it is the UK’s largest vaping retailer has revealed plans to further expand its store network – including a new outlet in Stirling – to more than 200 nationwide by the middle of 2024.

VPZ explained that it is opening 23 stores, with key locations also including Cardiff, Bristol, Plymouth, and Exeter, adding that this will include sites in high-footfall shopping centre locations, following the launch at Newcastle’s Metrocentre in December. The firm also said it will grow its specialist stop-smoking services into more local communities, having since it started out in 2012 helped more than 700,000 smokers in the UK to quit.

Furthermore, it said growth will come from its franchise model through existing franchisees and an onboarding programme with new partners, and the new stores will also widen access to its vape recycling service. VPZ additionally noted that the UK Government has recently announced that disposable vapes will be banned, and the company’s director Doug Mutter said it supports this, but warned that Westminster needs to learn lessons from a similar approach in Australia that led to the growth of an underground market. Scotland is also cracking down on vaping.

He said: “As the UK’s leading vaping specialist, we are spearheading the fight against the nation’s number one killer – smoking. Our plans to open 23 new stores by the middle of the year reflect our ambition to help more smokers take the first steps on their quit journey and properly address the environmental impact of disposable vapes.

“The new stores will further embed us in communities throughout the country, with a number being developed through our franchise programme. It’s also hugely exciting to be expanding our presence in high-footfall retail environments. The launch in Newcastle’s Metrocentre in December has been a strong success, and we are looking forward to further developing this model during 2024.”

The firm previously said it planned to grow its store footprint to 300 by 2021, and Mutter in response last year said its expansion plans were “on target” with the aim of 250 shops by the end of 2024, adding that further additions were “continuing at an aggressive rate ”.