Poundland expects fast growth in 2018 as it opens raft of Pep&Co corners

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 17, 2018

Poundland may have its challenges as its parent company Steinhoff battles accounting scandals and its subsidiaries get caught up in the mess. But that hasn’t stopped its expansion plans with the ultra-low-price chain planning to add over 150 Pep&Co spaces inside its stores in the year ahead taking its total to more than 300.

The company said the openings will give it “true fashion scale” as it expands in an area that is one of the most buoyant in the fashion sector, the value segment.

Pep&Co offers clothing and accessories at prices starting from £1 and 95% of what it sells comes in at under £10.

Given the strength of supermarket fashion brands and the ramping up of fashion activity by price-focused chains such as Lidl, it’s a sensible move. UK shoppers may be shunning higher-priced chains but value fashion and basics continue to appeal and targeting shoppers while they’re buying other non-fashion items seems to be working well too.

The new Pep&Co concessions in Poundland stores will offer women’s, men’s and kidswear starting February 1. The expansion will also take in Ireland with a pre-easter rollout there in Dealz stores (Poundland is known as Dealz in the Republic of Ireland).

Poundland expects this to propel its sales into the UK’s top 15 by volume after results so far showed that the concession move has boosted sales much more than having standalone stores. It said that over the Christmas period it managed to shift over a million more items than it had done via its standalones during their first trading year.

And the openings won’t only happen in areas with a high proportion of low income shoppers. Affluent Bromley is on the list, for instance, as  is London’s Portobello Road, and tourist city Canterbury, where a large student population is likely to boost sales of its budget fashion.

Poundland had earlier said that its Christmas trading was strong with sales up 20% to £59 million in the week leading up to December 25.