Last week the entirety of Poundland,, which has stores in Birmingham, was sold by its owners Pepco
Poundland shutting two stores ahead of 68 further branch closures
Another two Poundland stores are set to shut in weeks ahead of 68 other shop closures following a £1 rescue deal. Its store in Cowes, Isle of Wight, will shut permanently on July 30, followed by its branch in Newquay, which will close on August 1.
Last week the entirety of Poundland,, which has stores in Birmingham, was sold by its owners Pepco to a US investment company called Gordon Brothers (who used to own Laura Ashley) for a ‘nominal fee’ of a single pound.
Last week a huge restructuring has been announced, with 68 stores set to close. A further 70 Poundlands could shut as a result of the brand seeking rent reductions and lease expirations, and in total more than 1,000 jobs could be at risk.
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Poundland currently employs over 16,000 people across 792 branches in the UK and Ireland. The chain hasn’t yet announced which shops will close.
Pepco maintains that this does not mean that it’s the end of Poundland, stating that it “remains a key player in UK discount retail, with millions of customers annually and a well-loved brand and proposition’, and adding that this is simply a move to ‘[simplify] the group and [focus] on our successful Pepco business.”
Poundland managing director Barry Williams said of the closures: “It’s no secret that we have much work to do to get Poundland back on track.”
“While Poundland remains a strong brand, serving 20m-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,” he said.
Stephan Borchert, the chief executive of Pepco Group, said the sale “marks an important milestone in our strategic plan to move away from FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] and focus predominantly on Pepco, our higher margin clothing and general merchandise business”.
Pepco said last month that any sale of Poundland would not result in “major proceeds” for investors as Poundland might not make a profit in the last financial year.