Poundland opens 350th fashion shop-in-shop

Willenhall headquartered Poundland has opened its 350th PEP&CO clothing shop-in-shop as it accelerates expansion of its family fashion brand in town centres and retail parks where big-name clothing retailers have been in retreat.

The latest PEP&CO to open was at the Poundland store in the John Allen Centre, Cowley, Oxfordshire.

By the end of this financial year in September, Poundland will have PEP&CO shop-in-shops at around 400 stores across the UK and in Ireland where it trades under the Dealz brand.

PEP&CO was launched as a single standalone store in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in summer 2015.

There are still 13 standalone stores but the brand’s growth was turbocharged when it joined the Poundland family which was quickly followed by the opening of the first shop-in-shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

Last year saw the launch of a new mini-PEP&CO format which allows smaller stores to offer a comprehensive clothing range, such as the one at Cowley.

PEP&CO now employs more than 1,600 staff in stores, at its dedicated support centre in Watford and across its distribution network.

PEP&CO was the 18th largest UK clothing brand by volume, according to Kantar Fashion, as at the 12 weeks ending 30 September 2020.

Since its launch, PEP&CO has racked up more than £500m worth of sales and sold more than 142m items.

Poundland and PEP&CO commercial director Tim Bettley said: “At a time when many of the big names in clothing retail are disappearing, we’re expanding into more stores and filling a gap for family clothing at discount pricing.

“Whether it’s a full-size PEP&CO shop-in-shop or a mini-PEP&CO, customers love the price, the quality and the convenience of being able to put fashion items in their basket at their local Poundland store.”