28 December 2023 , 13:53
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Poundland is set to close two stores over the next few days, in a blow for high street shoppers.
The discount retailer will shut its Chineham Shopping Centre store in Basingstoke on December 31. Poundland previously said it will try to offer affected staff other roles in alternative stores and has confirmed its Festival Place store in Basingstoke will remain open.
Meanwhile, the Poundland shop at the Bay View Centre in Colwyn Bay, Wales, will close on January 5. Again, the retailer has said it will try to offer jobs at other stores to affected members of staff staff. It has been reported that both sites are closing because Poundland was unable to renew the leases.
However, fans will be pleased to know that Poundland has been busy opening new stores elsewhere. In an update earlier this month, the high street chain says it opened or relocated 87 stores in 70 days, from September 30 to December 9.
Poundland has now reopened 64 former Wilko stores, after it took on the leases of dozens of sites when Wilko collapsed into administration. It now expects to open more new stores in former Wilko units, moving “well beyond” the 71 leases it originally planned to take on.
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In addition to the former Wilko locations, Poundland has also opened new stores in flagship locations such as Birmingham Fort and Watford where it has begun trading from a former John Lewis store.
All new Poundland stores feature Pepco family clothing. Poundland has also added chilled and frozen food to 18 former Wilko stores in Barnsley (Wombwell), Brentwood, Barking, Scunthorpe Broadway, Sale, Thornaby, Hitchin, Bishop Stortford, South Shields, Nelson, Melton Mowbray, Worcester, Seaham, Maidenhead, West Ealing, Brigg, Peterborough and Leicester.
Over the last two months, Poundland has also recruited 1,200 temporary colleagues to work in stores across the UK and Ireland in the run-up to Christmas. While the majority of these shop floor roles ended on Christmas Eve, some will be extended until early January.
It comes after Poundland kept stores closed again on Boxing Day to give staff a well-earned rest. Poundland, which opened its first store in 1990, has around 800 shops across the UK. You can use its store finder tool to find your local branch.