UK DIY News
Poundland acquires Poundshop.com To Power National Online Rollout
Poundland has completed the purchase of online discount retail business, Poundshop.com.
The acquisition of Poundshop.com for an undisclosed sum is another step in the transformation of Poundland and will provide the infrastructure to power a national roll-out of its own pilot ecommerce operation.
Founded in 2014, Poundshop.com has grown to be the UK’s largest online-only value etailer. Poundshop.com has almost 400,000 customers across the UK and 65 colleagues at its distribution centre and head office in Wednesbury, West Midlands, just a few miles from Poundland’s own customer support centre in Walsall.
Poundshop.com chairman Steve Smith and CEO Chris Maddox will act in an advisory capacity to help smooth the integration which will be led by Poundland retail and transformation director Austin Cooke who in turn will lead the day-to-day operation of Poundland’s online business.
The deal includes Poundshop.com’s intellectual property, its tried and tested online platform, the picking and fulfilment operations in Wednesbury and its customer database.
Poundland will retain all of the current Poundshop.com colleagues and during the integration process Poundshop.com will continue fulfilling customers’ orders as normal.
Run by an experienced management team, Poundshop.com has expanded rapidly and last year alone saw sales more than double. It will continue trading under its own brand in the immediate term and will benefit from Poundland’s extended range and purchasing power to bring customers even more choice and value.
Poundland plans to build on the experience of Poundshop.com to develop further and scale up its own online operation which has started as a pilot in selected postcodes in Birmingham and Walsall and has now been successfully extended across the Midlands and into South Yorkshire.
Demand for Poundland’s pilot online service has been strong and has created excitement across the country for customers eager to access the service.
Helped by this acquisition, Poundland plans to widen its online offer, both in terms of ranges, adding PEP&CO clothing and homewares, and geographically, including extending beyond the UK and offering a Dealz online service for The Republic of Ireland.
After China and the US, the UK is the third-largest ecommerce market in the world, according to eMarketer’s research in 2022. It has always enjoyed a high penetration of online shoppers alongside physical retail which still accounts for the majority of sales.
The acquisition will accelerate the pace of the company’s plans to make its offer available on the web and means customers nationwide can look forward to shopping with Poundland at the click of a button in the near future.
The rollout of the online offer complements the opening of new stores and the expansion of ranges – from PEP&CO clothing to chilled and frozen food – as Poundland brings value for money shopping to even more customers at a time when every pound counts.
Barry Williams, Poundland managing director, said: “It’s great to warmly welcome the Poundshop.com team to Poundland. This acquisition puts power and pace behind our aspirations to make our amazing products and value available to customers across the UK and Ireland, however they choose to shop.”
Poundshop.com sells branded consumer products priced between £1 and £5 and typically below high street prices.
While it appeals to a broad range of shoppers and age groups, three quarters of its customers are female, and is particularly popular with 25–44-year-olds.
Source : Poundland
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