A NEW borough store hopes to become the nation’s one-stop shop for portable solar panels.
Ward & Co premises at 101 Wokingham Road have been refurbished, and the original hardware business is completely transformed.
Now trading as Undertwok it specialises in portable solar panels.
Why Undertwok?
Because the shop’s team will help customers live their lives under two kWh (Under – two – k) per person of electricity a day.
They want their new portable solar power supermarket to help customers capture solar energy on the go, whether in the garden, on the beach or in the outdoors.
They say their technology can help musicians, campers, shed workers, van lifers, and tradespeople.
Ward & Co began trading in 1920.
Richard Ward, son of its original founder, manaed the shop for 42 years.
He said: “We always had to adapt to modern times, even back in 1920, and it’s great now to see the shop is being used right at the front line of clean technology and ecommerce.”
As well as portable solar panels, the shop also sells electrically-heated gloves, cozy clothing, and solar powered fans..
But it is the solar panels that the team believe will be the real game changer, making it possible for people to take a source of energy with them.
Shop Manager, Leanne Cooper, said “You can hold a solar panel in your hand, and take it with you wherever you go.
“And you can charge a portable battery so that you have free clean energy with you at all times”.
All sales are conducted over the internet, with the shop floor used only as a place to demonstrate products, present open workshops, create podcasts, and develop social media content that is educational and fun.
Leanne explained: “Our shop staff are not traditional retail staff – they’re all TikTok creators at heart and the shop space is their studio.
“If customers walk in off the street they are always welcome to join in making a new piece of content – and they often do.”
For information, visit: undertwok.com
