Poundland enjoys record Christmas as it broadens its customer appeal
Poundland enjoyed record sales over the Christmas period as the discount retailer broadened its appeal to include more middle class shoppers.
In the 13 weeks to 31 December 2013, total gross sales rose by 12.4% to £348.8 million on the same period last year.
Poundland said the performance was driven by a combination of new store openings, good like-for-like sales growth and the broadening appeal of Poundland’s offer, with the AB demographic now representing approximately 22% of the retailer’s customer base.
The retailer saw record sales in the five weeks to 5 January 2014 and served over 7 million customers in the peak Christmas trading week.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Jim McCarthy, Poundland chief executive, said: “I’m very pleased to report another strong quarter of sales growth together with a record Christmas as we served more customers in more parts of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland than ever before. Poundland’s single price point and our amazing value clearly resonated with shoppers everywhere.”
He added: “There are structural changes underway in consumer shopping behaviour and I’m very pleased that Poundland continues to play a leading role in the growth of the discount sector. As the appreciation and appeal of our amazing value gains further momentum, I’m more confident than ever that in due course Poundland is on track to operate over 1,000 stores in the UK.”
In November 2013, Poundland reached a significant milestone with the opening of its 500th store in Birmingham. The business now trades from 517 Poundland and Dealz stores in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
