HOLIDAY Hypermarkets chief executive John Donnelly was nearly left with an enormous bill for his latest wheeze at the Croydon superstore which is due to open on June 17.
John dreamt up the idea of putting a glass screen in front of a mock-up of the Statue of Liberty in the shop. Then an image of Frank Sinatra singing New York, New York would be projected on to it.
He decided to do everything by the book and approached the Sinatra family for permission to use the footage. “Sure, it’ll cost you £250,000 for the licence,” came the reply. After haggling, John managed to get the licence for £25,000 for five years.
You won’t have to go to Croydon to see Frank singing – John’s licence will allow him to use the footage in the 17 other planned Holiday Hypermarkets. “The public will love it,” said John. If that isn’t enough, the stores will have models of girls singing the Can-Can and a mock-up of part of a cruise ship. Who said shopping was boring?