A WILMSLOW entrepreneur who gave up a career in accountancy to sell argan oil has opened his first store in the town centre.

Darren Smith, 43, of Bollin Hill, first experienced the oil while on holiday in Marrakesh six years ago, when his soon-to-be wife Jane used it to heal mosquito bites.

The couple were so pleased with the result, they began to search for stockists back in the UK, only to find a gap in the market.

Darren, who is also a trained barrister and qualified stockbroker, believed he was onto a winner with the product, and set up Simply Argan.

He told the Guardian: “Obviously my friends and family were quite shocked about it, but they were very supportive.

“We’ve done really well as an online company, so opening the new store in Wilmslow was the next step, and if it works we will look to expand further.”

Simply Argan had sales of over £250,000 in its first trading year, and has since gone from strength to strength while the product’s popularity boomed among celebrities.

The firm claims that the oil, which is known as ‘liquid gold’ in Morocco, can be used as an anti-aging lotion, as well as to treat acne, stretch marks, scars and dry skin.

The new Wilmslow branch opened on Monday, November 14, at the former Royal Bank of Scotland site in Grove Street, and Darren is looking forward to sharing the product among other residents in his hometown.

“We chose Wilmslow for our first shop as the town has good demographics for the type of high end beauty and cosmetics products we are selling,” he said.

“I believe that the success of the brand has been due to the very high quality of our argan oil and, subsequently, the quality of our extended product range.”