Self-made retailer Chris Dawson has an unmatched eye for a bargain.

When the MFI chain failed in November 2008, it was Dawson who worked round the clock to secure the bankrupt stock - all 2,400 lorry-loads of it - for a knock-down £68m. He is now making a handsome profit selling cut-price kitchens, bedrooms and the like through his Range chain of discount home stores. It's an approach typical of a man who started out as a market trader, and whose sharp patter earned him the nickname of 'Plymouth's very own deluxe Del Boy'.

With nearly 40 stores to his name now, Dawson has branched out, adding a waste-management business to his portfolio, which also includes online sales, a shopfitting company, insurance, a low-cost energy service and property interests in the south of France. He opened his first Range store in 1988 and has not looked back since.

Profits at his company, CDS (Superstores), reached a record £10.2m on sales of £174.7m in the year to January 2009. Despite this success, and the trappings of wealth such as his £200,000 Aston Martin, Dawson remains disciplined and careful about money. 'I always fly economy and I always stay in Travel Inns,' he says. 'I'm not a wizard or a maestro, I'm just a bit of a boy when it comes to business.' We can't argue with that. As more stores come on-stream, Dawson's empire is worth £150m, even in this difficult environment.