// Poundland completes its purchase of online discount retail business, Poundshop.com
// The deal includes Poundshop.com’s intellectual property, its online platform, the picking and fulfilment operations in Wednesbury and its customer database
Poundland has completed the purchase of online discount retail business, Poundshop.com.
The acquisition of Poundshop.com for an undisclosed sum is another step in the transformation of the discount giant and will provide the infrastructure to power a national roll-out of its own ecommerce operation.
Founded in 2014, Poundshop.com has grown to be the UK’s largest online-only value etailer with almost 400,000 customers across the UK and 65 colleagues at its distribution centre.
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Poundshop.com chairman Steve Smith and CEO Chris Maddox will act in an advisory capacity to help smooth the integration, which will be led by Poundland retail and transformation director Austin Cooke, who in turn will lead the day-to-day operation of Poundland’s online business.
The deal includes Poundshop.com’s intellectual property, its online platform, the picking and fulfilment operations in Wednesbury in the West Midlands, and its customer database.
Poundland will retain all of the current Poundshop.com staff and during the integration process Poundshop.com will continue fulfilling customers’ orders as normal.
Poundshop.com is run by an experienced management team and has expanded rapidly. Last year sales more than doubled.
It will continue trading under its own brand in the immediate term and will benefit from Poundland’s extended range and purchasing power to bring customers even more choice and value.
Poundland plans to build on the experience of Poundshop.com to scale up its own online operation, which it has piloted in selected postcodes in Birmingham and Walsall and has extended into South Yorkshire.
The acquisition will help Poundland to widen its online offer, both in terms of ranges – it plans to add Pep&Co clothing and homewares to its offer – and geographically as it looks to extend beyond the UK and offer a Dealz online service for The Republic of Ireland.
The rollout of Poundland online complements the opening of new stores and the expansion of its range – from Pep&Co clothing to chilled and frozen food.
Poundland managing director Barry Williams said: “This acquisition puts power and pace behind our aspirations to make our amazing products and value available to customers across the UK and Ireland, however they choose to shop.”
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