Poundland to shut 49 stores across the UK

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Poundland is set to shut 49 stores across the UK, with ten closing for good yesterday, it has been revealed. The discount shop chain's owner, Polish firm Pepco Group, sold the struggling business in June to US-based Gordon Brothers for a 'nominal fee' of just £1. The investment firm, which used to own textile brand Laura Ashley, said it would inject up to £80 million into restructuring the company.
As part of these efforts, it has said a whopping nearly 70 Poundland stores will close by mid-October - nearly ten per cent of the estimated total network of 800. Three of these 68 ill-fated branches have already shut their doors - and now, the locations of 49 more of them have been confirmed.
After the shutters come down on ten of them yesterday, some 15 stores will then close in just a week's time, on August 17, followed by 12 on August 24, and 11 on August 31. The final closure of this group of 49 will then come on September 14, with the shutdown of the branch at the Rivergate Shopping Centre in Irvine, North Ayrshire.
After this sweeping move, some 16 more stores will still need to close to reach the total of 68 - but their locations and closing dates are yet to be revealed. The three stores that have already pulled their shutters down for the last time include the branch in Swiss Cottage, north-west London, which closed on April 20.
The store in Chiswick, west London, then shut on May 28, followed by the branch in the Southampton West Quay shopping centre on June 9. Poundland's retail director Darren MacDonald said the chain is working towards a still 'sizeable' network of around 650-700 stores in the restructuring. The closure of 68 branches outright will be followed by additional shutdowns when leases expire and are not renewed.
But he emphasised: 'It is of course, sincerely regrettable that we're closing a number of stores to allow us to get us back on track. 'We entirely understand how disappointing it will be for customers when a store nearby closes but we look forward to continuing to welcome them to one of our other locations.
'Work is underway to with colleagues through a formal consultation process in stores scheduled to close, exploring any suitable alternative roles.' On top of the closures, Gordon Brothers' restructuring plans will also involve negotiating rent reductions at certain store locations. For instance, while one Poundland store in Canterbury, Kent, is sadly due to close, the city's other branch, on St George's Street, has reopened.
It shut down on July 23, not as part of the list of 68 set to close amid the restructuring, but opened its doors again on August 1 after a new lease agreement was secured. They will also close Poundland's frozen and digital distribution centre in the village of Darton, South Yorkshire, later this year. This will see frozen products removed from stores and much fewer chilled food items.
The new owners also plan to shut the chain's distribution centre in the town of Bilston, West Midlands, by early 2026. Other cost-cutting measures include stopping selling products online and expand the chain's womenswear and seasonal collections. But all these additional changes, beyond the 49 store closures, still need to be approved by the High Court later this month.
Poundland went under the hammer in March, with its previous owners Pepco putting it on the market after issues with sales. The firm reported a 6.5 per cent drop in the chain's revenue, which sunk to £830million for the six months to March, versus the previous year. Pepco blamed the decline on 'highly challenging trading conditions', with the franchise struggling to make sales in all product categories. Some 18 stores closed in this period.