Poundland is treating 150 stores in the UK and Ireland to a major revamp between now and the end of August.
‘Project Evo’ will see the stores get new signage, flooring, lighting and ranges, while staff areas will also be made over to make them better places to work, according to Poundland.
For the majority of the 150 sites, including in Ireland, where Poundland trades as Dealz, it will be the first significant investment they have received in over five years.
By the end of the project they will have “the most comprehensive ranges that can be accommodated in the location, including chilled and frozen food, and the very latest clothing and homewares ranges”, according to the variety discounter.
They are set to gain all-new home ranges from Poundland parent Pepco in a new group-wide sourcing initiative.
They will also be reconfigured to make more space for baby and children’s clothing.
“Project Evo represents a significant investment in a substantial number of stores to make them brilliant places to shop and work,” said Poundland director of property services Alan Smallman.
“Over the past five years we’ve transformed our offer for customers, adding extensive ranges of clothing, homewares, chilled and frozen food.
“We’re now embarking on a programme that will show off those ranges in a modern and bright environment that’s easy to shop, navigate and checkout.
“We look forward to bringing our best offer to these 150 stores over the coming months.”
Poundland is in the process of introducing 2,000 new general merchandise lines in its new sourcing arrangement through Pepco, which aims to harvest economies of scale. It is a change The Grocer revealed was on the way in November last year, when Poundland completed a similar move with its clothing range.
Poundland has also been aiming to take grocery spend from supermarkets for a number of years, by expanding in new categories including frozen.
Sarah Riding, retail & supply chain partner at the law firm Gowling WLG, called Poundland a “fringe discount supermarket” and said the 150-store revamp was a “fantastic opportunity” for it to “move into a space where it can compete more readily with its leading equivalents such as Aldi and Lidl”.
“Poundland’s store makeover strategy could open the door to the business becoming more of a staple for those that only currently use it as a ‘top-up’ or convenience option,” Riding added.
Poundland has over 850 stores in the UK and Ireland.
Project Evo refurbishments are set to be completed by Saturday 17 February in Urmston, Keynsham, Darlington and Plymouth in England, along with Mullingar and Cavan in Ireland.
Further makeovers will be completed by Saturday 24 February in Keighley, Leeds (Crown Point), Coventry and Chatham in England plus Athlone in Ireland.
Another 31 makeovers will take place on subsequent Saturdays to bring the total to 42 by Easter, according to Poundland.
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