Poundland is closing nine former Wilko stores months after first opening them. The discount high street chain, owned by the Pepco Group, bought 71 Wilko stores when the chain collapsed into administration last year.
The sites were rebranded and opened within a few weeks but Poundland is now shuttering nine sites. A spokesperson for the high street discount chain told The Grocer the move to close the stores was part of a “constant review” of its estate.
The spokesperson said: “As you might imagine, Poundland’s store portfolio is under constant review and that review led to those particular closures.” A Poundland spokesperson said: "We moved really quickly to open a significant number of former Wilko stores in the final calendar quarter of 2023 so we could offer roles quickly.
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"While it’s disappointing we haven’t been able to make a small number of them work in the long-term, all the people employed at those stores have been offered roles at nearby locations." The full list of Poundland stores which are closing includes Alfreton and Bishop’s Stortford.
Other branches set to close include Ealing as well as Eccles, Ellesmere Port, Hillsborough and Jarrow. Other branches include Nelson and also Stafford, Poundland has confirmed. “Alongside the previously announced agreement with B&M, we’re confident this sale will create a platform for future employment opportunities for people including current Wilko team members at up to 122 locations,” said Edward Williams, a joint administrator at PwC, at the time of the Poundland takeover.
Williams went on and said in a statement as the Black Country retailer gobbled up Wilko following the cruel administration blow: “We will continue to engage with other retailers around any interest in other Wilko sites and are confident of completing a sale of the brand and intellectual property within the coming days.”
