Poundland chilled lunchtime food returns without £3 meal deal

Poundland’s chilled food range has returned to stores, three months after it was stripped out following the chain’s takeover by private equity firm Gordon Brothers.

A slimmed-down range of about 60 chilled lines is being delivered directly to Poundland stores by Greencore, including on-the-go sandwiches, wraps, salads, snacks, yoghurt pots and sausage rolls, priced at £1 or £2. The range also includes Starbucks lattes, Yazoo milk shakes, fruit juices and core chilled grocery lines such as milk, butter, cheese, and sliced meats.

The offer vanished from Poundland’s stores at the start of September after it received High Court approval for a restructure plan including the closure of a distribution centre handling chilled food in Darton, South Yorkshire.

When it announced the plan in June, Poundland said a reduced chilled food offer would in future be “anchored around its market-leading £3 meal deal and other essentials such as milk”.

However, Poundland has so far not brought back the meal deal, which gave shoppers a main, side and drink. Without it, the £1-£2 price structure means shoppers now get a main and one other item for £3.

Poundland has also closed scores of stores in recent months as its works toward shrinking its estate from about 800 when the restructure plan was announced to between 650-700.

The plan has also led to the retirement of its loyalty app and its retreat from online sales.

Another DC, in Bilston, West Midlands, is set to close next year.

In an update last week, Poundland named 33 stores set to close by February – 19 of which had been previously announced – following clearance sales offering discounts of up to 40%.

“We know how disappointing it is when we leave a store, but before we close our doors for a final time, we’re determined to say goodbye by offering even more amazing value to customers,” said Poundland UK country manager Darren MacDonald.

“The special reductions, on top of the value we provide in every store, will help us leave locations we’re leaving with pride.

“And when we close our doors, we look forward to welcoming customers to one of the hundreds of Poundland stores we’ll continue to operate right across the UK.”

Gordon Brothers bought Poundland from Pepco Group for £1 in June, agreeing to invest £90m in turning the discount chain around, made up of an initial £60m and an additional £30m subject to implementation of the restructuring plan.

Poundland has since dramatically reduced its fmcg range, removing close to 50% of products, and moved to a £1-£2-£3 pricing structure in a return to simplicity and pound shop basics.