Poundworld has launched a wholesale website to cater for small retailers in what it believes is an “untapped” market.
The single-price retailer which has over 180 stores across the UK is now offering its own brand products it sells in stores online for retailers such as pet shops, market traders and eBay sellers to buy in bulk.
Called discount-wholesale.co.uk, the website stocks products from both Poundworld and its multi-price fascia Discount UK.
Discount Wholesale’s e-commerce manager Helen Todd said: “The business is a great venture. We had a lot of retailers contact us about buying our stock and so we decided to set up the website. It is an untapped market for discount lines.”
Todd said Discount Wholesale can offer products at low prices because of Poundworld’s buying power.
The single price point retailer already trades some of its store stock on a wholesale basis, currently generating revenue of about £1m. Trading director Chris Edwards told Retail Week, when he revealed initial plans for the venture last November, that this could grow to £5m with the new website.
The model asks customers to register on the website before purchase and the minimum buy is one full carton.
Todd said the wholesale website is not a substitute for a transactional Poundworld website.
Single price point retailers have not yet launched a successful transactional website because of the disproportionate costs involved with selling low-priced goods. Poundstretcher pulled its transactional site early this year less than two years after its launch.
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