Poundland like-for-like sales drop 2.9% in the UK
Radio presenter Joe Duffy recently claimed Dublin is “being turned into pound shops” however over in the UK, a slowdown in sales at Poundland suggests the popularity of pound shops is waning
Print28 September 2015
The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK recently granted Poundland final clearance for the £55m takeover of its single-price rival 99p Stores. The competition regulator had previously made early objections based on the logic that the move could be bad for consumers, but has since withdrawn these.
Poundland now has the all-clear to complete the takeover more than six months after it was first announced. However the retailer’s latest like-for-like sales suggest that all is not as rosy in the garden as the takeover news would suggest.
According to Fiona Cincotta, a senior market analyst at www.finspreads.com: “A slowdown in sales is not what poundland will have wanted to report to shareholders and the markets alike, as the takeover of 99p stores get cleared by competition authorities.
“Poundland reported like for like sales for the 25 weeks to September, dropped 2.9%, a significant change from the 4.7% increase in sales that was seen a year earlier.
“Although they blamed a tough comparable from the year earlier, there is no avoiding the fact that sales declined. That in addition to reporting that takeover target, 99p stores´ financial position is not as strong as previously thought, raises the possibility that the good times are no longer rolling for these cheap stores.
“With income increasing in real terms for the UK population and the public enjoying higher disposable income perhaps it comes as no surprise that the popularity of pound shops is waning,” Cincotta added.
Related Articles
Dealz and Poundland stores donate over 100,000 Easter eggs →
Fans 0
Followers