Poundland sold in £80,000,000 deal with thousands of jobs at risk
Poundland's parent company has announced it has sold the brand off for a 'nominal' price.
Pepco Group has sold off Poundland to investment firm Gordon Brothers so the group can focus on its Pepco clothing business instead.
Gordon Brothers is spending £80million on its plans to turn Poundland's fortunes around – but hundreds of shops could close and thousands of jobs are at risk, with some closures already announced.
Pepco Group previously said it saw a drop in revenue of more than £57million last year.
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BBC News
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- BBC News
'I was Mrs Poundland, but I stopped going when their prices went up'
Sharon Carroll once shopped so much at her local Poundland that her friends described her as "Mrs Poundland". "I'd just buy so many things," says Sharon. "I'd spend £40 to £50."When everything used to be £1 it was a big attraction."But when the company began to change its pricing strategy, increasing the prices of some products from £1, the 45-year-old says she cut down on her purchases."The quality of the products was also going down and you were paying more for things." Other shoppers also told the BBC that they were put off when the retailer started putting its prices week, the struggling budget chain was sold for (appropriately) £1 by its owner Pepco to a US investment firm, Gordon Brothers. Up to 100 stores are at risk of £1 promise was Poundland's "most compelling proposition", says Howard Lake, a retail consultant at Kantar."Removing this identity alienated its core shopper base."The company clearly agreed. After it raised some prices from £1 in 2017, earlier this year it said it was returning to its roots, increasing the number of products it offered that cost £1 or less from 1,500 to 2,400, almost half its range. Small towns Poundland has 825 stores in the UK, with around 16,000 of those shops are former Woolworths or Wilko branches, which it hoovered up after the two brands became the biggest occupant of ex-Woolworths stores after the retailer went into administration in 2009, taking on 93 of its stores, more than 10% of the Woolworths estate. In September 2023 it took over the leases of 71 former Wilko these stores were in the kinds of small towns where other large retailers do not have a presence."They might have had a Woolworths, a bank and a charity shop," says Jonathan de Mello, a retail analyst and the founder of JDM Gray loves going into her local Poundland in Bangor, Northern Ireland. Recently, she found a pair of small ceramic houses in the store, which were a copy of a design she had seen at Zara. "We don't have a Zara near where I live," she says. Poundland's presence in small towns has been crucial to fostering a sense of customer loyalty, says retail psychologist Kate Nightingale."Simply being present in people's daily rituals is one of the strongest ways to build interdependence."Presence plus reliance are some of the most important qualities of loyal relationships and it is no different to relationships we build with brands."But de Mello says when Poundland expanded into small towns, not enough people went in, which hit their bottom line."In the small locations that they've opened multiple stores in, I feel the volumes aren't there in terms of footfall, unfortunately." Increased competition In 2016 Poundland expanded into fashion, beginning the roll-out of its Pep&Co clothing range, but this soon faced a trading update in May 2024, the company admitted that changes to the way it sourced clothing had reduced the number of sizes on offer. While the wide range of products stocked by Poundland may have been handy for consumers, it became a problem for the stocked so many different products – from food to clothing, to homewares and baby products – that it became, says Kantar's Howard Lake, a "supermarket-general store hybrid".That made it vulnerable to competition from numerous other the food side, there are Aldi and Lidl, whose UK presence has grown rapidly in recent years. On the homewares side are Home Bargains and B&M. And on the clothing side are Shein and Temu, the cheap Chinese exporters which have enjoyed a surge in popularity among British says Lake, consumers found these other offers "far more attractive". Poundland told the BBC: "Our missteps have been well documented and those include the execution of Pepco-sourced clothing and general merchandise product ranges in a way that didn't fully align with UK & Ireland customers' expectations."We're looking forward to having the opportunity to put those missteps right as we put our recovery plan in place." Shoppers like Elinor Martin in Sutton Coldfield hope the company uses Poundland to pick up snacks for her sons' packed lunches, stationery and birthday cards for school, plus shampoo, shower gel and cleaning says she would miss her local branch if it were to close. "I can get things I need at Poundland. I find things cheaper there [than local supermarkets]."Elizabeth Gray in Bangor says she would miss her local store too if it went."I would be sad if it closed," she says. "I'm kind of in love with Poundland." Additional reporting by Charlotte Edwards and Tom Espiner
Reuters
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South Wales Guardian
6 hours ago
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Shoppers react to Christmas stock spotted in shops in June
And it's not only Christmas items on sale in June that have caused a stir, but 'spooky season' Halloween stuff is also gradually appearing in shops. A post on the Facebook group Extreme Bargains and Savings UK got people talking this week, as a picture of Christmas sweets was posted in Home Bargains. While some shoppers were annoyed by the idea that Christmas had come early, others believed it was a sensible way of planning ahead. One person commented: 'This must be a wind up!' Another added: 'I don't want to think of Christmas just yet. It's only June.' 'Taking the p***,' another said. 'Omg like it's only June! What the hell,' one shocked user commented. But others thought it was a good idea for budgeting, stating: 'Only 29 weeks until Christmas, that's only seven monthly wage packets left.' Discontinued UK Sweets/Chocolates While one person commented: 'Some people can only afford to buy a little at a time, leaving them having to start buying as soon as it's over. It's never too early.' Facebook users also remarked on other stores that they've spotted Christmas and Halloween stock in months in advance. One person added: 'Went to HomeSense/ TK Maxx yesterday…it was flooded with Halloween - have to admit though it's kind of exiting to know spooky season is around the corner.' 'I saw some Christmas stuff in Poundland today,' another added. Recommended reading: Cadbury makes major change to Christmas chocolate box Home Bargains staff reveal the meaning of red star stickers This simple life hack costing just £1.35 gets rid of unwanted pet smells easily While some people may find it a little strange to plan so far in advance, many people turn their thoughts to Christmas at the end of August, experts say. House & Garden says: 'There's no doubt that preparing for Christmas (especially if you're hosting), can be a lot of work. The key, however, is organisation. 'If you get a few things booked in September and October, and then a few jobs checked off the list each week in November and December, the whole thing will feel like a breeze.'
