Latest news with #Pepco-sourced
Glasgow Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Discount retailer's Glasgow store at risk of closure
Poundland's shop at 1588 Great Western Road in Anniesland is among 68 of the brand's stores facing closure, if plans are approved. It comes after the company was taken over by the Gordon Brothers in June 2025. Following the takeover, the firm announced details of a 'recovery plan' to return the 'business to growth'. As part of the plan, the beloved discount store launched its 'restructuring plan', which is described as a 'foundational element' of the brand's recovery plan. READ MORE: Jobs at risk as Poundland 'to close' more than 50 UK shops READ MORE: Major retailer closing down Glasgow Silverburn store Poundland revealed the proposal is intended to deliver 'a financially sustainable operating model for the business after an extended period of under-performance'. If approved by the courts, the chain's restructuring plan, alongside the broader recovery plan, is expected to result in: The closure of 68 stores and rent reductions across a number of other locations will result, over time, in an anticipated network of around 650-700 stores. Poundland's withdrawal from the retail sale of frozen food in the stores where it's currently offered. The reduction of its chilled food offer, which will in future be anchored around its market-leading £3 meal deal and other essentials such as milk. The closure of Poundland's frozen and digital distribution centre at Darton, South Yorkshire, later this year and its national distribution centre at Springvale in Bilston, West Midlands, in early 2026. Delivery volumes from a streamlined Poundland will be absorbed into its existing distribution centres in Wigan and Harlow. The simplification of Poundland's digital presence, converting from a transactional website to a brand website, and the retirement of its Perks app as the business focuses on its in-store offer for customers. The return of ranges lost during the transition to Pepco-sourced products – for example, a greater depth of womenswear in its clothing offer, the return of key seasonal general merchandise ranges, and the restoration of product categories customers have missed. Poundland said that impacted creditors have been contacted, and the court timetable is expected to conclude later this summer. Barry Williams, managing director of Poundland, said: 'It's no secret that we have much work to do to get Poundland back on track. 'While Poundland remains a strong brand, serving 20m-plus shoppers each year, our performance for a significant period has fallen short of our high standards and action is needed to enable the business to return to growth. 'It's sincerely regrettable that this plan includes the closure of stores and distribution centres, but it's necessary if we're to achieve our goal of securing the future of thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores. 'It goes without saying that if our plans are approved, we will do all we can to support colleagues who will be directly affected by the changes.' It is understood that staff at the store in Glasgow's Anniesland have been informed about the potential closure. If plans materialise to close the store, Poundland said they would work with staff members to explore any suitable alternative roles. While the brand has unveiled plans to potentially shut its Anniesland store, it still has several other locations across Glasgow, including one on Sauchiehall Street and another on Argyle Street.
Powys County Times
23-06-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Poundland confirm short-term future of Welshpool store
Poundland have confirmed that Powys customers will still be able to shop at their stores – for now. The company which has been brought out US investment firm Gordon Brothers has said the stores in Welshpool and Aberystwyth would not be among the initial 68 stores that are set to close if their restructuring plan is accepted. The company, which has been in financial turmoil, will be subject to big changes if the plan is accepted by the court. If approved, Gordon Brothers, who used to own Laura Ashley, will pursue 'the closure of 68 stores and rent reductions across a number of other locations'. Currently the company has around 800 stores across the UK but if the plans go ahead it will 'result, over time, in an anticipated network of around 650-700 stores' – meaning the Welshpool and Aberystwyth stores may not be entirely safe in the long term. Barry Williams, managing director of Poundland said: 'It's no secret that we have much work to do to get Poundland back on track. 'While Poundland remains a strong brand, serving 20 million-plus shoppers each year, our performance for a significant period has fallen short of our high standards and action is needed to enable the business to return to growth. 'It's sincerely regrettable that this plan includes the closure of stores and distribution centres, but it's necessary if we're to achieve our goal of securing the future of thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores. 'It goes without saying that if our plans are approved, we will do all we can to support colleagues who will be directly affected by the changes.' Help support trusted local news Sign up for a digital subscription now: As a digital subscriber you will get Unlimited access to the County Times website Advert-light access Reader rewards Full access to our app The changes would also see Poundland would end its sale of frozen food and a reduction of its chilled food offer which would 'be anchored around its market-leading £3 meal deal and other essentials such as milk'. The company have also promised 'the return of ranges lost during the transition to Pepco-sourced products – for example a greater depth of womenswear in its clothing offer, the return of key seasonal general merchandise ranges and the restoration of product categories customers have missed.'
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
With even Poundland and B&M in trouble, what's next for Britain's ailing high street?
Poundland is on the City's discount sale rail. Despite posting a £1.6bn turnover last year, its European owner wants out. Investors in B&M, a similarly value-focused retailer, have also been heading for the exit. Despite an apparently robust trading update in January, they looked at the future, and especially its profit guidance, and they ran. Smart move. Last week, the group issued a profit warning and said its CEO Alex Russo was stepping down. The shares have been in long-term decline. Over the last 12 months, they're underwater by nearly 52 per cent. By contrast, the broad-based FTSE All Share index is up by 11.5 per cent over the same period. What's going on? Poundland is a victim of its European parent, Pepco, seeking to pep up its performance by streamlining the group and operating under a single brand. This leaves Poundland as an unwanted child with very poor prospects. Pepco boss Stephan Borchert said: "At Poundland, recent performance has been very challenging, impacted by declines in clothing and general merchandise following the transition to Pepco-sourced product ranges at the start of the year.' A sale, he said, was the preferred way forward for the retailer. Does this mean a buyer coming along and buying it for a pound? Perhaps that's pushing it a bit. Former boss Barry Williams has been slotted back in. He's shown he can turn a business around and he is likely to focus on value, with an increase in the number of products sold at a pound. It is some time since Poundland did away with selling everything at that price point because, obviously, inflation. However, as Pepco told its investors, he is being pitched into a retail hellscape. It didn't put it like quite that, preferring to say Poundland was operating in 'an increasingly challenging UK retail landscape that is only intensifying'. But faced with that, Williams will need a mighty magic wand to bring the business back to life and while Pepco still loves him, it isn't willing to stick around to see if he can deliver. That also explains investors being so down on B&M even though one wonders what Williams would surrender if someone offered him the chance to be in its position. An arm? A leg? The trouble is, the high street 's diminishing band of holdouts all face the same deep-rooted problems. It is not just the discounters that are looking aghast at the outlook. Their costs are going through the roof. Steep rises in the minimum wage, welcome in many respects, are nonetheless tough to handle when you're also paying higher national insurance contributions (NICs) for every member of staff you employ on top of that. It isn't just Rachel Reeves 's decision to increase the rate from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent either. She also reduced the threshold. That means employers start paying after the first £5,000 rather than £9,1000. This is particularly hard on retailers, which have large workforces made up of relatively low-paid employees. Even the solidly profitable supermarkets – an increasingly tough source of competition for pound shops with their habit of price matching to the likes of Aldi – have been warning of price rises and job cuts. Investment plans have, meanwhile, been mothballed. David Bharier, head of research at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: 'UK firms are facing a double whammy of rising domestic taxation and a potential global trade war. Businesses are telling us that the rise in national insurance and the minimum wage will increase costs, stall investment, and cause them to rethink their workforce plans.' The BCC has downgraded its 2025 growth forecast for the UK economy to just 0.9 per cent from 1.3 per cent. It is far from the first institution to do that. The Bank of England cut its own prediction in half, to just 0.75 per cent. Small wonder. Consumer confidence remains mired in the red, where it has been for months, with business confidence similarly low. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has greeted the increasingly desperate calls for help, or at the very least a phased increase of the new tax rates, with a tin ear. So is it really unrealistic to think that Pepco would accept as little as a quid for someone to take the underperforming Poundland off its hands? Absence of a Damascene conversation from Reeves, who really needs to find some way of getting business back on the side if Labour is to stand a chance of making good on its growth promises, I don't think it is. As for the high street, the tumbleweed is blowing down it. If you live in a prosperous area, you may still find the odd shop amongst the cafes and the beauty salons, which have been doing well. If not, it's chicken shops and not much else. With gambling moving online, even the bookies have been giving it up as a bad bet. Reeves needs to wake up, fast.
