Budget store Poundland is set to sell items for 50p and 75p while charging up to £4 for others in trial – but 75% of products will remain at £1
- Popular budget store is trying to shed its reputation as a ‘single price retailer’
- Pilot will see some foods and toiletries slashed to 50p and 75p in the Midlands
- More premium brands will be sold using new £1.50, £3 and £4 price points
- But three quarters of items in Poundland’s 300 UK stores will still be priced at £1
Poundland is permanently slashing the prices of some products to as little as 50p – but will also stock items for £1.50, £3 and £4 for the first time, it was revealed today.
The budget store, which has 300 UK shops and employs 2,000 people, is trying to shed its reputation as a ‘single price retailer’ – although three out of four products will still be sold for £1.
The move, designed to help customers do more of their weekly shop in Poundland, will see dozens of items priced below £1 for good.
The pilot, which will take place across stores in the Midlands, will include ranges such as 500g Napolina Passata and 75g Princes Sardine & Tomato Paste at 50p, and 100ml Colgate Toothpaste for 75p.
Poundland is pricing old and new products at between 50p and £4 as it tries to sell fewer products for £1
The retailer said it has previously sold occasional ‘Manager’s Special’ items for 50p, as well as reduced post-Christmas sale items, but the pilot will offer the first dedicated ranges for under £1.
Poundland said it is transforming itself to be a ‘simple price retailer’, rather than stick with its ethos of selling products at one single price.
The pilot will also include trials of £1.50, £3 and £4 price points, after it started selling products at £2 and £5 in 2017.
The company said this means it will sell products such as Aussie Shampoo for £3, Elvive Nutrigloss for £2 and four-pack tins of John West tuna for £3.
Poundland said it is keen for customer feedback on the pilot, but around three- quarters of products in its pilot stores will remain at the core price of £1.
The first stores taking part in the pilot have already launched the new price ranges, beginning with the branch in Park Street, Walsall.
Poundland managing director Barry Williams said: ‘We promise customers amazing value and we are committed to fulfilling that promise on the widest range of items.
‘While three-quarters of the products we offer will still be £1, it’s important we look to broaden our ranges elsewhere, whether above or below £1.
‘Our customers are among the savviest in the country. We know that and it’s why we’re moving at the pace they dictate to become the simple price retailer they want us to be.’
Poundland is permanently slashing the prices of some products to as little as 50p, it was revealed today
Poundland was bought in a £597million takeover by South African retail conglomerate Steinhoff in 2016, and a new leadership team came in tasked with turning the struggling business around.
Poundland is using every trick in the book to keep the tills ringing – including slashing the prices of products to beneath £1 for the first time in the store’s history.
Last month it emerged the store would sell £9 trainers that looked just like £445 Gucci trainers.