Poundland like-for-like sales were down 2.9% in the quarter to 28 December 2025, according to a trading update from the retailer.
The variety discounter has also shed 2,200 jobs in a restructure programme launched last summer, the update reveals.
The decline in like-for-like value sales came despite like-for-like volume growth of 9% in revamped fmcg ranges and 2% across all categories, according to the update, covering Q1 of its 2026 financial year.
The discount chain delivered EBITDA of £17.3m in the quarter, which was £8.4m ahead of a year earlier and in line with a budget it shared with suppliers in September.
It also delivered an additional £10m in cost savings over and above initiatives earlier budgeted for.
The 2.9% fall in adjusted like-for-like value sales – which excludes the impact of categories removed such as chilled and frozen food and online sales – resulted from lowering prices.
Poundland said there was clear evidence customers were reacting positively to its refocused grocery aisles, with a simpler proposition at lower prices and more at £1.
The 2,200 job losses, which left the retailer with a headcount of 12,000 at the end of 2025, came from the closure of 149 stores and two distribution centres. The closures were part of a restructuring plan under private equity owner Gordon Brothers, which acquired Poundland from Pepco Group in June last year.
It left Poundland with 651 stores by the end of 2025 and two remaining DCs, in Wigan and Harlow, following the closure of facilities in Darton and Springvale in Bilston.
The programme of closures, which received High Court approval in August, is now complete.
“While there has been significant progress as we refocus and re-energise the business with lower prices and a sharper offer, we know we still have much to do,” said Poundland MD Barry Williams.
“Our focus on our costs has, without doubt, given us a platform for future growth, but no sustainable turnaround can be based on cost management alone.
“That’s why our focus in 2026 will be on delivering the kind of ranges and price simplicity our customers want right across the store – in clothing and homewares as well as our core grocery aisles.
“They’ve told us loud and clear they want a simpler, more focused Poundland that keeps its promise of amazing value.
“We have clear indications from the work we’ve already done that we’re on the right track.
“That progress is very much down to the hard work of our colleagues in challenging circumstances. I want to thank them for helping us achieve so much in the past few months.
“We will continue to do all we can to support them.”
Separate figures shared with The Grocer by SpendMapper, a sales data company that analyses the real time bank transactions of 150,000 consumers, point to total spending at Poundland throughout 2025 being 18.1% lower than in 2024. Customer numbers were down by 8.2% and spend per transaction was down by 5.6%.
Spending in December 2025 was down by 32.6% compared with the same month a year earlier, equating to just over £40m in lost revenue, according to SpendMapper.
A Poundland spokesman said overall sales data reflected the significant number of unprofitable stores Poundland closed in 2025, as well as its withdrawal from unprofitable categories such as frozen and chilled food. He said that was the plan to begin returning Poundland to profitability and its trading update provided clear evidence it was moving in the right direction.
About 60% of Poundland fmcg is now priced at £1, following a back-to-basics strategy launched by Williams last summer. A nationwide ad campaign is set to begin next week to highlight how the offer “doesn’t rely on tricks or gimmicks like loyalty cards or yo-yo promotions”. The campaign will span out-of-home media, digital, social and radio.
Poundland is also bringing back its Pep&Co clothing brand, in a move previously announced. The new ranges have been designed and bought by its in-house team based in Watford, and will begin rolling out to all stores from next week.
As much as 90% of the new clothing lines will be below £10 and 45% below £5.
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