New vaping shop opens in Hemel Hempstead's town centre

A vaping retailer has opened a new store in Hemel Hempstead, creating five new jobs.

VPZ, which specialises in vaping and alternative tobacco products, officially opened its doors today (Friday) in The Marlowes.

The new shop will be the first new store from the company in England since the COVID-19 lockdown.

Director Doug Mutter said: “We are delighted to open our new store at Hemel Hempstead.

"We are seeing the biggest change in the retail economy in living memory and we as a company have had to adapt in what we can offer.

“We understand that not all of our customers are able to travel to our stores. The High Street is having to adapt to much smaller footfall.

“That is why we have opened this new store within a more residential area to ensure we can still serve our customers, without requiring them to take excessive travel.

“We believe this maybe a longer-term change to the marketplace and we are investing and committing to serving local communities as best we can.”

Despite the retail sector facing huge challenges the company are seeing more smokers making the switch, with record numbers of quit attempts in 2020.

Doug added: “Vaping represents a huge public health opportunity and the market will continue to grow as increasing numbers of smokers recognise its effectiveness in helping people to quit smoking."