Good golly, Miss Mollie enjoys sweet success

Good golly Miss Mollie – is this Britain's youngest business whizz?

The average six-year-old is still learning their 10 times table, but Mid Wales schoolgirl Mollie Price is proving she would already give the very best adult entrepreneurs a run for their money.

One of the youngest entrepreneurs in the UK is the brains behind aptly-named Mollie's, a modern sweetshop selling traditional British sweets and American candy.

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With the help of her mum Becky, the Welshpool youngster has now opened up her third store in Shrewsbury's Pride Hill Shopping Centre to add to two existing branches on Welshpool High Street and in Newtown's Bear Lanes Shopping Centre.

The budding business talent has proved running a shop is child's play and, according to her mother, the three stores are organised and stocked to her daughter's strict instructions as the empire continues to expand.

Mrs Price said: "It might sound crazy but believe me Mollie is the real brains behind the operation.

"She dictates what we sell and is up at 5am every Sunday ready to go to our wholesale suppliers in Birmingham to restock.

"Once there she very carefully chooses what we buy and what we should and should not stock. She really is very particular. And it seems to work as we have been incredibly busy since opening our latest store in Pride Hill.

"However, we have a prime location and chose Pride Hill because it's incredibly vibrant and always busy. And of course we have the benefit of seven day trading which is a huge help to a business such as ours."

When the youngster is not busy attending Buttington Primary School, in Welshpool, she regularly offers her mum and business partner sound advice to boost the company's profits.

"Mollie has always loved sweet shops, whether it's drawing colourful pictures of shops stocked to the rafters with sweets of all colours or watching films such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is her all-time favourite," said Mrs Price.

"She has some wonderful ideas. For instance, we have two large tin soldiers standing guard at the entrance to our Pride Hill shop which she insisted are called Alfie and George after her two brothers.

"She also came up with the idea of a temperature chart on the wall in Shrewsbury so if it's really cold we sell our Mr Whippy ice creams cheaper than when it's hot outside. For someone so young I believe that really shows a marvellous business brain."

And Mrs Price said she has plans to introduce more American candy and a candy floss machine into the Pride Hill store in the near future.

She added: "Mollie loved it when we went on holiday to America and came back full of ideas of selling candy back home. That's why we already stock more than 50 flavours of Jelly Belly beans.

"Mollie now wants us to have an M&Ms colour coded section which is something we are going to do.

"We have also installed a Slush bar and the latest Mr Whippy machine which automatically pipes on different flavoured sauces.

Nothing is done in any of the shops without consulting Mollie. And, believe me, if she doesn't think an idea will work she has no hesitation in telling you so. I suppose, by listening to Mollie what we are doing is ensuring our shops appeal to all ages."

Mollie said: "Children have the best ideas. I tell my mum what I think and she always says I have good ideas. It's just that I know what other children like."