Poundland to roll out more Pep&Co outlets after strong Christmas

Poundland is to open more than 150 new Pep&Co fashion outlets within its existing stores over the next year as part of its aim to become a “major high street fashion player”.

The expansion will double the availability of Pep&Co in the discount retailer’s stores, beginning on February 1 in the UK and continuing to Ireland before Easter.

Poundland said the move would give it “true fashion scale” and elevate it to a top 15 clothing retailer by volume alongside the likes of River Island, Top Man, Asos and Peacocks if expected sales are reached.

Prices at Pep&Co in the UK start at £1 and 95% of the range is £10 or under, the retailer said.

Pep&Co managing director Adrian Mountford said: “This Christmas we sold over a million more items than we did in our whole first year of trading from standalone stores.

“Thanks to our partnership with Poundland - and now Dealz in the Republic of Ireland - we’re set to double in size over the coming year, helping us to drive economies of scale to keep prices low, helping make Poundland an increasingly popular new fashion destination.”

Poundland’s UK & Ireland managing director Barry Williams said he planned to make the retailer a “must-stop fashion destination”.

He said: “We’re turning that ambition into reality and by the end of this year, with over 300 ‘shop-in-shop’ fashion stores, we’re set to become a major fashion player.”

Sales at Poundland jumped by a fifth to £59m in the final week before Christmas compared to last year, helping the high street chain to its strongest ever festive performance.

Poundland’s European parent, Pepkor Europe, moved to calm supplier concerns at the beginning of this month by replacing planned investment from troubled owner Steinhoff with a £180m independent loan facility.

Steinhoff was plunged into crisis last month after revelations of accounting irregularities linked to its 2016 accounts, although the group said the issues could run even further back.