Five facts about Poundland

Δημοσιεύθηκε: 18 Φεβρουαρίου 2014 - 12:34

• Poundland opened its first store in Burton-upon-Trent in 1990 with the intention of mimicking the success of single-price stores in the US, such as Dollar General. It now operates nearly 500 stores across the UK and plans to grow to 1,000 stores over the next five to 10 years.

• Its slogan is "Yes! Everything's £1". Unless you are shopping at one of its "Dealz" stores in Ireland, where it sells the vast majority of its products for €1.49.

Poundland decided to brand itself as Dealz in Ireland in 2011 to avoid the use of the word "euro", which its research suggested had a negative connotation for many Irish consumers because of the eurozone debt crisis.

• The downturn has been good for Poundland, showing that people get a kick out of feeling they have been savvy. Between 2008 and 2013, its sales more than doubled from £330m to £880m.

•Poundland is a "rediscovered phenomenon", according to Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at Conlumino. Marks and Spencer was the UK's original pound store, with its history dating back more than 125 years to the penny stall on Leeds market. Since then the concept of single-price retailing has expanded to the likes of Poundland, Poundstretcher and 99p stores.

• Despite its origins on depressed high streets, Poundland has become increasingly popular in relatively well-to-do areas as shoppers turn to it for everything from washing powder to pasta sauce. More than one in five of its customers are in the affluent AB demographic, compared with about one in seven in 2012.

Stores in towns such as Cambridge, Stratford upon Avon, Guildford and Bath generated higher sales per store in 2013 than the average Poundland store.

• In 2009, it sold 185m batteries, 21m metres of aluminium foil, 1.7m umbrellas, 4m jars of coffee and 500,000 garden gnomes. Top-selling products in the past have been reading glasses, umbrellas and 12-pack Kodak batteries.

© The Financial Times Limited 2014. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation