IT was the town that was too posh for an Argos.

But the tough financial times appear to have tempered this local view, as a bargain retailer will open its doors to Lymington residents on Thursday.

The 99p Stores have taken over the former Woolworths premises in Lymington, which is just yards from where a local boutique owner made headlines three years ago by saying the catalogue store Argos would not be welcome opposite her shop.

But now 99p Stores Ltd is hoping that the recession has changed that outlook and that customers will throw caution to the wind to snap up the discounts.

At the opening on Thursday, the store will be showing just how posh it can be with Mozart, Beethoven and opera music enticing shoppers from the quaint market town through their doors.

They will be serving “posh nosh” including truffles, glasses of bubbly and canapés of pate and sun dried tomatoes to hungry customers.

The store, which is expecting hundreds of people through the doors on its first day, will offer the first 499 customers a bottle of perfume, aptly named Posh.

Hussein Lalani, commercial director said: “Our clients are merrily throwing dinner parties using our 99p luxury products.

“It’s frankly a bit embarrassing – when we first opened up in the UK in the early noughties we were pariahs.

“Now we’re the toast and talk of the county set!”

Schoolgirl Sophie Ellis, who is representing the local Rotary Club, will be scooping up as many products as she can in 99 seconds at 8.40am on Thursday before officially opening the store at 9am.

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