Pepco Group Sets Its Sights On Greece And Italy

Pepco, the parent company of Poundland, is looking to expand further into Europe.

Currently, Pepco Group trades from over 2,500 stores in 14 territories across Europe, serving 49 million shoppers each month through its PEPCO, Poundland and Dealz brands. It is opening stores at a rate of around 300 per year in its main markets of central and eastern Europe.

An interview in the Financial Times with Pepco CEO, Andy Bond, revealed the retail group is interested in expanding into the Greek and Italian markets. Mr Bond said: “They are adjacent [to existing markets], they have a lot of attractive customers that would like our offer and they are markets where discount retail is less well developed."

It is widely expected that Pepco will be sold off by its South African parent company, Steinhoff, in the next few years, as the business seeks to money for its creditors, following a 2017 accounting scandal which saw the business overstate profits and assets by nearly $12 billion.  Earlier this year, Steinhoff sold Blue Group - the parent company of Bensons for Beds and Harveys - to Alteri Investors for an undisclosed sum.

In its latest half-year figures, Steinhoff reported reduced losses of €356m (approx £315m), compared with £530 million in the previous year. 

Pepco recently appointed Trevor Masters as managing director to help deliver the growth planned for the brand, which achieved €3.4bn in sales and an EBITDA figure of €325m.  Bond told the publication that the business has potential to double profits in the next five years.

Source : Insight DIY Team

Image : Grand Warszawski / Shutterstock.com

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