Poundland relaunches £1 offer in UK stores amid huge shake-up and 68 store closures

The Sun

16 hours ago

POUNDLAND is relaunching its £1 offer in UK stores amid a huge shakeup.
The discount chain is going back to basics, with plans to increase the number of products sold in store for a quid, The Sun can reveal.
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As part of the shake-up, the discounter will roll out £1, £2, £3 grocery pricing across all stores.
Eventually, the number of grocery items at £1 will increase to 60% with 20% at £2 and 20% at £3 respectively.
Health and beauty, household, confectionery will also be smacked with the bargain price tag.
Poundland's lucrative clothing business will not be included in the offer.
However, The Sun has been told that a similar strategy is set to be rolled out within this department come 2026.
Branches in Manchester, Liverpool, Hanley, Brixton and Wandsworth are now live with the new offer.
The news follows a five-month trial within 17 Poundland stores across the Midlands.
In pilot stores, prices were reduced and ranges re-focused on what customers favoured.
Barry Williams, managing director, said: "Customers have told us loud and clear during these trials that they will back a simpler, more focused Poundland that keeps its promise of amazing value."
"We've heard them, and the clear success of our pilot is why I'm confident that a Poundland that's focused on the simple value our customers expect, can have a bright future.'
Poundland to be sold for JUST £1 as frontrunner for shock takeover is revealed after wave of store closures
Today's announcement comes five years after the business ditched its £1 price limit.
Back in 2019, Poundland stores began selling items for £10, after rolling out items for £2 to £5 a few years prior.
The chain is currently waiting for high court approval for a dramatic restructuring plan which could see 68 stores close.
The chain was bought by the Gordon Brothers last month as part of a deal that included major restructuring and an £80million cash injection.
All change at Poundland
The bargain retail chain will make a number of changes following its sale.
Come September 16, shoppers will no longer be able to buy products off its website and its loyalty scheme, Poundland Perks will be axed.
Loyalty scheme customers signed up to the Poundland Perks app have until January 15, 2026, to use their rewards vouchers.
Poundland's new owners have said they also want to:
Close its frozen and digital distribution centre in Darton, South Yorkshire, later this year
Ditch frozen products from stores
Reduce the number of chilled food items sold
Close its national distribution centre in Bilston, West Midlands, in early 2026
Provide more womenswear and seasonal ranges
As it stands, Poundland operates 800 stores nationwide, but the company hopes to significantly reduce this number to between 650 and 700.
This includes the 68 stores closing by mid-October, as well as additional stores shutting when leases expire and are not renewed.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."