Retail experts have spoken out over the sale of Poundland, which has Birmingham stores, after it was sold for £1.Retail experts have spoken out over the sale of Poundland, which has Birmingham stores, after it was sold for £1.Retail experts have spoken out over the sale of Poundland, which has Birmingham stores, after it was sold for £1.

A major update has been issued over Poundland closures – after “how it lost its appeal to shoppers” emerged. Retail experts have spoken out over the sale of Poundland, which has Birmingham stores, after it was sold for £1.

One Bedfordshire shopper said: “It’s not actually that cheap any more. It’s kind of lost its appeal because everything is not a pound.”

A second said: “Everything in there is not a pound and, even if it is, it can be smaller than normal. It is not really an attractive place to shop.” A third commented: “I always find it a bit hectic in Poundland. I don’t tend to go in. B&M has more choice.”

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One former Poundland director, said the brand had “lost its way” by becoming “far too complicated and confusing for customers”. Emily Scott, a retail analyst at GlobalData agrees: “The introduction of multiple price points has confused customers, while still not enabling shoppers to trade up within its ranges as it lacks the additional choice of mid to premium products.”

She adds: “Poundland’s weak variety of branded goods at low prices has meant it has struggled to keep pace, damaging its brand perception amongst brand- and budget-conscious shoppers.”

Poundland said: “Despite continuing to serve 20 million shoppers a year, we know we’ve not met customers’ expectations in a number of areas over the last couple of years.

“We’ve heard them and we’re looking forward to having the opportunity to put those missteps right as we put our recovery plan in place.”

Barry Williams, the managing director of Poundland, said: “It’s no secret that we have much work to do to get Poundland back on track.

“While Poundland remains a strong brand, serving 20 million-plus shoppers each year, our performance for a significant period has fallen short of our high standards and action is needed to enable the business to return to growth.

“It’s sincerely regrettable that this plan includes the closure of stores and distribution centres, but it’s necessary if we’re to achieve our goal of securing the future of thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores.”