More stores and jobs on the way to the Black Country, says Poundland boss
Poundland could soon be opening more stores and creating more jobs across the Black Country, according to the company's chief executive.
Jim McCarthy made the announcement at the opening of Poundland's 600th store in Bilston, where he spoke of the company's love for its heartland.
The CEO said: "Yes we could see more stores opening in Bilston and across the Black Country. We love opening stores in the heartland and we've got two of our distribution centres in the Midlands so the economics are good.
"The customers are great, they love value, they appreciate Poundland and we love them to bits. Wherever opportunities arise in the Midlands for profitable Poundland stores to open we will definitely do that.
"With each store we create between 20 and 30 jobs at the store itself, and then you've got your support roles in distribution for example, so it's not just the store but also in the distribution centres and the customer support centre."
Mr McCarthy also spoke about the potential for even more jobs to be created across the Black Country if Poundland's entry into the online market is a successful one.
He said: "We're still working on online, we've been working on it for just under three years I think. The market is changing and you've got things like click and collect emerging.
"Its base will be in the Midlands yes, both in terms of the team that support it and also the fulfilment. If it's successful jobs will open up.
"We will launch but I'm not putting a date on that yet. It's not dependent on the number of stores opening or indeed the acquisition of 99p. It's a separate operation with a separate team but it will have that wonderful value that we offer at a pound and some interesting things. What we wanted to do with the site and what we are doing with the site actually is making it slightly different to the norm with a bit of fun as well and at the appropriate time you will see all that."
Poundland have had a hugely successful year as they celebrated their 25th anniversary and passed the £1 billion barrier for sales.
The company was founded by Keith and Steve Smith in 1990 who got the idea from a stall they ran in Bilston market.
