Poundland opens 350th shop-in-shop
Poundland has just opened its 350th PEP&CO clothing shop-in-shop as it accelerates the expansion of its family fashion brand in town centres and retail parks where big-name clothing retailers have been in retreat.
The latest PEP&CO to open was at the Poundland store in the John Allen Centre, Cowley, Oxfordshire.
By the end of this financial year in September, Willenhall-based Poundland will have PEP&CO shop-in-shops at around 400 stores across the UK and in Ireland where it trades under the Dealz brand.
PEP&CO which was launched as a single standalone store in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in summer 2015.
There are still 13 standalone stores, but the brand’s growth was turbocharged when it joined the Poundland family which was quickly followed by the opening of the first shop-in-shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.
Last year saw the launch of a new mini-PEP&CO format which allows smaller stores to offer a comprehensive clothing range, such as the one at Cowley.
PEP&CO now employs more than 1,600 in stores, at its dedicated support centre in Watford, and across its distribution network.
From a standing start, it has become firmly established as one of the UK’s favourite clothing brands, with its range of womenswear, menswear and kidswear snapped up by 15 million customers a year. Total sales have topped £500 million with more than 142 million items sold.
PEP&CO was the 18th largest UK clothing brand by volume, according to Kantar Fashion, for the 12 weeks to the end of September.
Poundland and PEP&CO commercial director Tim Bettley said: “At a time when many of the big names in clothing retail are disappearing, we’re expanding into more stores and filling a gap for family clothing at discount pricing.
“Whether it’s a full-size PEP&CO shop-in-shop or a mini-PEP&CO, customers love the price, the quality and the convenience of being able to put fashion items in their basket at their local Poundland store.”
Last year the PEP&CO brand was also extended into a range of contemporary homewares
Since opening its first store in Burton upon Trent in 1990, Poundland has grown to 917 stores in the UK and Ireland and employs around 18,000
Now part of Pepco Group with 3,021 stores across Europe, Poundland also trades internationally through its Dealz brand in Poland, Spain and Ireland.
