A £150 hanging egg chair has joined Poundland’s latest range as it takes one of its boldest steps so far in its evolution into a multi-price discounter.
The egg chair is one of 450 new products unique to Poundland’s biggest ever store, which opened in Nottingham on 12 February.
It’s also part of roughly half the range at the new flagship branch which is priced at over £1.
At 15,000 sq ft – more than twice the size of a typical Poundland – the store has space for about 6,500 lines in total, from homewares to fresh veg.
The egg chair is part of an expanded homewares and electricals range, which also sees Poundland introduce Russell Hobbs toasters, kettles and irons. Other brand new features in the store include a dedicated Rimmel cosmetics display.
Poundland has been cautiously adding new price points since 2017, but in 2019 still boasted 90% of its products cost £1.
Commenting on the new branch in Nottingham’s Riverside Retail Park, Poundland retail and transformation director Austin Cooke said: “In this store, 91% of the product is under a fiver and 53% is £1 or less.
“This is about amazing value for the customer, and if we can give amazing value at a slightly higher price point, but still substantially better value than anywhere else, we feel like it’s a bit of a responsibility to provide that.”
He said the £150 egg chair was “quite a big test for us, just to see whether customers want to buy into that kind of price point with us”.
He said new range additions were “bringing that same amazing value we have in the rest of our range but at a different price point”.
The store also stocks Poundland’s complete food offer, including chilled and frozen along with an extensive ambient range, dairy and a bay of fresh fruit & veg.
It brings together the grocery ranges from other Poundland formats, including its Local stores, which target convenience shoppers.
Cooke said the fresh fruit & veg bay was “narrow in terms of space in the store” but “broad in terms of appeal”, giving customers “the option of getting bananas or carrots while they’re here”.
A food-to-go area at the front of the store features a Costa Express self-service coffee bar, snacks and pastries from Poundbakery and £3 sandwich meal deals.
The store also has an alcohol section.
Cooke said Poundland’s aim was to allow customers to do “as much of their shop as possible in one environment”.
“We have a lot of our customers who will do their full weekly shop at a Poundland,” he added.
He said the most significant development in the new store was in the way the range was showcased, with wider aisles and new display features, aimed at encouraging customers to spend longer shopping.
“The biggest departure is the way we’re showcasing the range to customers – the equipment, the fixtures, the space to shop it, the visual merchandising,” he said. “We want it to still feel like Poundland from a value point of view but also give customers the chance to shop the range differently.”
The store also has supermarket-style conveyor belt checkouts for those shopping with trolleys.
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