Poundland steps up expansion despite challenging retail conditions

Poundland is to open four new flagship outlets and extend its chilled and frozen food line as it defies challenging retail conditions to accelerate its presence on the high street.

The rollout will include more than 30 new stores and relocations already in the pipeline, with four of the new stores being among the largest in the group.

The first of the large format stores will open at Nottingham Riverside Retail Park in February, with more than 18,000 square feet of retail space – three times larger than a typical Poundland.

It will be followed by Teesside Retail Park in Thornaby, with a 15,250 sq ft ground floor and a 5,474 sq ft mezzanine.

The discount retailer said it plans to extend its popular chilled and frozen food ranges to around 100 more stores between now and September, with the aim of passing 500 outlets next year.

Poundland managing director Barry Williams said: “The coming year will see us step up our transformation programme – including some of our largest stores and widest ranges – as we become the Poundland we know our customers want us to be.

“From groceries to clothing, homewares to frozen food, day by day we’ll continue to bring much more to customers in new and exciting stores tailor-made for where they live and how they want to shop.”

The expansion news came as the chief executive of Poundland’s parent company announced that he is to quit the business later this year due to health reasons.

High street veteran Andy Bond, a former chief of Asda, said on Wednesday that he will leave Pepco at the end of March but remain an adviser to the board until the end of the financial year.

His departure comes after 10 years with the European retailer, which owns discounting stores under the Pepco, Poundland and Dealz brands across the Continent, including seven as chief executive and launching the company on the Warsaw Stock Exchange last year.