Poundland owner set for accelerated store opening

Pepco, owner of European discount retailer brands Pepco, Poundland, and Dealz, said it is set to accelerate its store opening programme, since demand for its products remain strong amid economic uncertainty. 

The group, which listed on the Warsaw stock market last year, said it was aiming to open at least a net 550 stores in its 2022-2023 financial year, including taking the Pepco brand into Greece and Portugal. 

“That’s a very large number but it’s one that we absolutely believe in that in the fullness of time we can deliver on,” acting finance chief Mat Ankers told Reuters. 

Total revenues grew by 17.4 per cent to 4.82 billion euros (£4.25 billion) over the year to September, compared with the previous year, said the group. The firm’s Poundland business reported a 5 per cent increase in revenues to 2.11 billion euros (£1.86 billion) for the year. 

Poundland saw like-for-like growth of 1.7 per cent over the final quarter of the year as customers faced rising household bills. 

The group, which runs around 3,900 stores across Europe including around 800 Poundland shops, said demand for products “remains strong even against the backdrop of significant uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment”. 

It added that the UK is “challenging” as customers continue to see pressure on their disposable income. 

“That said, our value-led proposition becomes even more relevant in these challenging times and continues to drive new customers to our stores, expanding our target market, across Europe,” the company added. 

On Wednesday, it confirmed that it grew its store estate by 516 over the past year, surpassing targets of 450 new stores. 

Trevor Masters, boss of the business, said: “These are very challenging times for families across Europe and we remain absolutely committed to helping customers on a budget by offering great range, value and convenience – and we are confident this will enable us to expand our customer base going forward. 

“We will continue to drive our business using our four key strategic levers – bigger, better, simpler and cheaper. This strategy is driving faster growth through accelerated store openings and innovation to improve each store for customers and colleagues, helping to further enhance our like-for-like performance.  

“We are also deploying these levers to lower our cost structure – to be significantly cheaper and more efficient – and improve back-office structure and processes.