A business that started with just £200 and a passion for wrestling collectibles is set to open a flagship store at the Metrocentre.
Superpower Toys will open its biggest store yet at the Gateshead shopping centre on Halloween, after two years on Newgate Street in Bishop Auckland.
Owner Jonny Dent, 37, of Bishop Auckland said the expansion marks a major milestone for the business, which began online in Newton Aycliffe eight years ago.
Jonny, the owner of Super Power Toys. (Image: JONNY DENT)
The store will open in The Crescent, the Metrocentre’s newest retail and leisure quarter, on October 31.
Jonny said: "We're mainly focused around WWE and wrestling stuff.
"We've been in the Bishop Auckland shop a couple of years and the business has been going for about eight years.
The Bishop Auckland store. (Image: JONNY DENT)
"It's going really well, so now we're expanding and opening a flagship store in the Metrocentre, which is a big deal for us.
The new shopfront in the Metrocentre. (Image: JONNY DENT)
"It was originally an online business started in Newton Aycliffe on the industrial estate there and then the business grew and grew.
"We opened a shop in Bishop and carried on the online business.
"This is the biggest thing we've ever done."
Superpower Toys specialises in wrestling figures and collectibles and has built a loyal following among collectors across the UK and beyond.
Jonny launched the business to escape temporary jobs and build something of his own.
He said: "I started the business eight years ago because I had a passion for collecting and I was also looking to get out of my nine-to-five job and start my own business.
"I had very little money.
"I started the business with £200 in my bank account.
"I started buying and selling collectibles on Facebook and social media and then grew from there.
(Image: JONNY DENT)
"I grew my following and built a bit of a community around collecting wrestling figures and things like that.
(Image: JONNY DENT)
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"It's just grown and grown to the point where we're one of the biggest in Europe online for wrestling stuff."
The expansion is creating new jobs, with Jonny employing one person in Bishop Auckland and recruiting two full-time staff for the Metrocentre store.
The original Superpower Toys shop remains at 221 Newgate Street in Bishop Auckland, while the flagship store opens on October 31.