Poundland today confirmed another seven former Wilko stores would re-open before Christmas bringing the total of former Wilko stores that are beginning their Poundland journeys to 63.
And with four new relocations now scheduled in addition to the 19 it had already announced, that would mean in a single three month period, Poundland would open around 1m square feet of new space and 86 stores.
Last month Poundland confirmed it intended to open or relocate 75 stores over the three months to the end of December – the largest three month growth programme in its history.
That programme has now been boosted by the addition of more Wilko stores to the programme and the addition of three additional relocations to the schedule.
This quarter, Poundland has already opened new stores in Telford (Forge Retail Park), Stafford (Queens Retail Park), Gloucester (Southgate Street, Lancaster (Cornmarket), Sunderland (Pallion Retail Park), and a Pepco in Dublin (Artane).
It will also open new stores in Portishead (High Street) and Crewkerne (Market Street) tomorrow (25 November).
It now plans 15 openings and relocations in December, including a move into a former John Lewis in Watford:
Saturday 2 December 2023:
- 26 Stonehills, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6NA
- 38 High Street, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, BA3 2DL
- 34-38 Midland Road, Bedford, MK40 1PS
- 72-72A Preston Street, Faversham, ME13 8PA
- 34-35 High Street, Newport, Shropshire, TF10 7AQ
- Unit 3, The Harlequin Centre, High Street, Watford, WD17 2TW (relocation)
- 56-58 Lord Street, Liverpool, L2 1TD (relocation)
- 3 Risman Place, Washington Square, Workington, CA14 3DU (relocation)
Saturday 9 December 2023
- Units 4,5,7, Howgate Shopping Centre, High Street, Falkirk, FK1 1HG (relocation)
- 44-46 High Road, Wood Green, London, N22 6BX (relocation)
- Unit 4, Cleveragh Retail Park, Sligo (Pepco)
- 27/29 High Street, Wells, BA5 2AA
- 10B, The Fort Shopping Park, 20 Fort Parkway, Birmingham, B24 9FP
- 59 The Broadway, Plymstock, Plymouth, PL9 7AX (relocation)
- Units 13-14 Antonine Shopping Centre, Tryst Road, Cumbernauld, G67 1JW (relocation)
Another seven former Wilko stores will also begin their Poundland journey in December, bringing the total number of rapid Wilko-to-Poundland conversions to 64.
The opening timetable for these former Wilko stores is as follows:
Saturday 25 November 2023:
- 49-55 Queensway, Stevenage, SG1 1DN (relocation)
- 6-10 Princess Way, Camberley, GU15 3TG (relocation)
- Unit 5, Green Lanes Shopping Centre, Barnstable, EX31 1UG
- 4 The Beeches, Nottingham Road, Long Eaton, NG10 1LJ
- 57-61 Carolgate, Retford, DN22 6EB
Saturday 9 December 2023:
- Unit B, 25-37 Foregate Street, Chester, CH1 1HD (Relocation)
- Unit 6, 34A The Parade, Swindon, SN1 1BA
In Stevenage, Camberley and Chester, Poundland will relocate into the Wilko units from existing nearby stores.
All new Poundland stores – both Wilko and non-Wilko units – will feature the very latest Pepco family clothing that has rolled out to 560 of Poundland’s existing UK and Ireland stores.
The clothing ranges feature new ranges from lifestyle and athleisure brands such as Cardio Bunny and Bekkin and a significant increase in the space dedicated to baby and kidswear.
Austin Cooke, Poundland’s managing director said:
“We excitedly continue to open and relocate stores at pace so we can bring our best offer, including all-new clothing, chilled and frozen food to customers, existing and new.
“The monumental effort from our teams continues to amaze me, and it supports jobs and high streets right across Britain.
“That’s 86 stores in 70 days that we’ll have opened successfully, and no one should underestimate the effort and energy that our teams have put into delivering that achievement – I certainly don’t. It’s phenomenal!”
Poundland continues to prioritise former Wilko colleagues for roles in Poundland and encourage them to follow Poundland’s posts on LinkedIn or visit www.poundlandcareers.co.uk to find details of open roles and how to apply for them.
To date, Poundland has now made offers of employment to over 800 former Wilko colleagues.
