First of 200-strong chain store ready to open

THE first in a possible chain of over 200 new stores nationwide will open in a West Midlands shopping centre next week.

The new ‘hub’ shop is the creation of Poundland founder and Shropshire resident Dave Dodd which will open its doors in the former Woolworths unit, in Telford Shopping Centre, on Thursday.

Forty staff have been recruited alongside five full-time apprentices who will follow a nine-month programme of management training followed by a fast-track promotion scheme.

The 10,000 sq ft store will sell household items, gardening equipment, stationery, camping gear and other outdoor goods.

Mr Dodd, who is originally from Wolverhampton, pledged that the Telford hub would be the first of a nationwide chain of more than 200 stores. A second hub store is due to open in Manchester’s Arndale Centre in the first week of October.

• 40% of ex-Woolworths stores still empty
• Poundland profits soar 81%
• Retailer Poundland sold for £200m

Mr Dodd said: “We have an excellent team in place in Telford and are looking forward to opening our fantastic new store.

“The next few months will be a particularly exciting time for hub and its employees as we progress with an accelerated pace of growth.

“We have ambitious expansion plans and are keen to maximise opportunities for all of our employees to reach their full potential and play their role in the company’s future success.

“The benefits of apprenticeship schemes are well documented and, if managed professionally, should create a more skilled, motivated and satisfied team that is better equipped to deal with today’s challenging retail environment.

“The Telford apprenticeships are the first of what we envisage to be a progressive apprenticeship programme – rolled out as and when we open new stores across the UK.”

Mr Dodd’s business partner Barney McElholm told TheBusinessDesk.com he could not specify exactly where other hubs shops would be located in the region but they would most likely be in larger towns and shopping centres such as Birmingham and Solihull.

The shop will be officially opened by GMTV TV critic Richard Arnold.