Expansion plans by Edinburgh vaping retailer

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 Cara diff, 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 stopsmoking 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.”