Poundland has capitalised on the way shopping habits have changed during the tough economic climate of recent years. The retailer has been building a multi-price point strategy from mid 2022, to help consumers with mounting costs of living, it has committed to leaning back into its “iconic” £1 price point.
Poundland’s overall network - including the Dealz fascia in the Republic of Ireland, Spain and Poland - stands at around 1,051.
The business increased its scale considerably through the acquisition of 99p Stores in 2015, but a year later closed 80 stores to limit cannibalisation and duplicates following this deal.
While it pulled the plug on an earlier ecommerce trial a few years ago to focus on the core business, it kicked off a new online delivery trial from early 2021 as part of a transformation programme.
In early 2022 Poundland acquired online discount retailer Poundshop.com to facilitate a national rollout of its ecommerce trial.
As part of its transformation programme, the retailer has also been splitting its store estate into three types - ‘destination’, ‘core’, and ‘convenience’.
Poundland has been under the ownership of South African retailer Steinhoff from 2016. Steinhoff became embroiled in an accounting scandal in late 2017, but parent company Pepco Group has since endeavoured to distance itself financially from the business and has refinanced high-interest loans.
And in mid 2021, Pepco was valued at €5bn (£4.3bn) for its stock market listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Overall sales came in at £1.6bn in the year to 25 September 2022, while pre-tax profits edged up to £33.9m, from £33.5m the year before as the retailer made progress in executing its strategy.
In recent years, the retailer’s performance has been boosted by the expansion of Pep&Co branded shop-in-shops within larger Poundland stores and the addition of multi-price areas in its outlets.
Innovation rating: 1.5
