A MAJOR discount chain with 825 stores nationwide has launched a huge closing down sale that has attracted hordes of shoppers hoping to bag outrageous bargains.
Poundland’s store in Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast, has cut prices by 50% across its entire range with shoppers queueing out of the door to check out the savings.
Shoppers have been queueing to shop the bargains at the Belfast store[/caption]
The shop is due to close in just four days on Friday March 21.
It is looking to clear stock before shutting its doors and shoppers have been flooding the site to see what they can find.
Commenting on a picture posted to social media one said: “The place has been rammed.”
Another added: “There was a queue to get into it this morning! I have NEVER seen a queue to get into Poundland.”
The closure comes after Connswater Shopping Centre was placed into receivership earlier this month.
Poundland has said it’s disappointed to be leaving the site, but has no option but to close.
At the end of last year shoppers saw other closures from the bargain retailer as it shut 13 stores in three months.
Closures were seen in towns including Maidenhead, Sutton Coldfield and Macclesfield.
Meanwhile, Connswater Shopping Centre is shutting after more than 40-years of serving customers.
It had opened in East Belfast in 1983 and was an instant success, becoming a go-to destination for thousands of shoppers.
However, it began to decline in popularity over the years.
By January 2024, almost 50 per cent of its retail units lay empty with shoppers branding it a “shambles”.
The whole site will close its doors for good on Friday March 21.
What else is happening at Poundland?
While this closure is a related to factors beyond Poundland’s control, concerns for the future of its other stores were sparked last week when it was announced the chain could be sold.
Early reports have suggested a significant number of stores could be axed as part of the proposed sale, sparking concern amongst the chain’s legions of fans.
Last week a spokesman for Pepco Group, which is the parent company of Poundland, told the Telegraph: “As stated at our capital markets day on March 6, we are actively exploring separation options, including a potential sale, for the Poundland business.
“We have started to work with advisers to support us with this process.”
Pepco said it was looking at “all strategic options” to separate Poundland from its brand, to focus on its more profitable businesses in Europe.
The group had previously warned that upcoming hikes to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and national minimum wage would significantly add to its costs.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said during her autumn statement last year that she would raise employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%.
She also announced a reduction to the threshold at which businesses start paying NI contributions from £9,100 to £5,000.
Late last year, it was revealed that profits at Poundland also tumbled by £641million in the year to September, with bosses again blaming slow sales amid a poor outlook thanks to measures set out by Reeves.
A spokesperson also said the huge loss was “due to a non-cash impairment at Poundland that relates to the acquisition of the UK chain in 2016”.
This means the value of the business has decreased because of an expectation future cash flows will fall.
More recently, Poundland also saw revenue fall by 9.3% for the three months to December.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
