Poundland
Poundland is a British variety store chain founded in 1990. It once sold most items at the single price of £1, including clearance items and proprietary brands. The first pilot store opened in December 1990 following numerous rejections by landlords who had reservations about allowing a single-price store to operate, fearing it could adversely affect the local competition. An estimated 7 million customers shopped in Poundland every week in 2016, many being female shoppers in the C1, C2, D and E categories (the working classes in a system of demographic classification used in the United Kingdom). Following a drop in share price of over 50%, Poundland was acquired in August 2016 by Steinhoff International for £610 million. The retailer expanded into other European countries during the latter half of 2011, first opening a store in the Republic of Ireland and later operating a subsidiary chain of discount stores in mainland Europe under the name Dealz. Poundland acquired closest rival 99p Stores in 2015, which left Poundworld as their closest competitor until it went bankrupt in 2018, leaving Poundland as the category killer of the pound shop format. History 1990–1999: Formation and early history Poundland was co-founded by Dave Dodd and father and son team Keith and Steven Smith in April 1990 with a starting capital of just £50,000 and an office in Sedgley. The firm was funded by a loan from Keith Smith, who had set up the wholesaler and discount store Hooty's in 1963. The first pilot shop opened in December 1990 in the Octagon Centre, Burton upon Trent and managed a turnover of £13,000 from 624 products on its first day of trading. Previous attempts at opening pilot shops had failed after being turned down by landlords who had reservations about allowing such a shop to operate and doubted the single-price concept would be successful in the UK. By the end of the first year, Poundland was operating from several shops and had turned over £1 million, with a profit of £6,000. Growth continued throughout the early 1990s, with six shops by December 1991 and a further seven a year later. In 1995, Steven Smith failed to plan for more warehouse space and retail growth pushed their storage capacity past its limits. In response to unacceptably high stock theft, a new warehouse was built, although it reduced profits from £850,000 in 1994 to £400,000 in 1995. Operational difficulties were resolved throughout 1996, when a new office in Hong Kong opened to support product sourcing and operations in the UK. Early to mid-2000s: Expansion and management buyout Although enduring a troubled first few years, by the 2000s Poundland had become a multi-million-pound business, opening their 150th shop in Northampton in mid-2006 with steady increases in gross turnover throughout the decade. Following a management buy-out in 2002 by Advent International for £50 million, the company continued to grow with annual profit growth of 46% a year from £4.1 million in 2006 to £12.7 million in 2009. Chairman Colin Smith, speaking