Poundland to close Walsall store by end of the month as part of restructuring plan
Poundland is closing one of its Walsall stores before the end of the month as part of the company's restructuring programme to put the struggling discount chain that began in the Black Country back on track.
The store in the Digbeth market area in the St Matthew's Quarter is among 18 set to close this month and next as part of plans to return the business to growth. The retailer has given a closure date of October 29 for the branch with a clearance sale expected to start soon.
Poundland has a second store in Walsall town centre in Park Street which is remaining open.
The 18 Poundland stores earmarked for forthcoming closures will be selling off stock at reduced prices over the coming days and weeks.
Customers will be able to take advantage of significant savings with reductions of up to 40 per cent.
Items will be marked down in price until they’re sold and the sale covers all the stock in each store from homewares to groceries and clothing to health and beauty.
Earlier this month Poundland brought its main 68-store closure programme to a conclusion, closing 57 stores by September 28, and placing a further 11 closures on hold.
In time the company still expects to operate a network of around 650 to 700 stores compared to around 800 at the beginning of the restructuring programme, as leases expire or landlords exercise any option to serve notice.
The clearance sales underway and launching in the coming weeks are all taking place at lease-expiry locations as Poundland continues its programme to simplify its retail network around its best-performing sites, to try to secure thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores.
Launching the markdown sales Poundland’s retail director Darren MacDonald said: “We know how disappointing it is when we leave a store, but before we close our doors for a final time, we’re determined to say goodbye by offering even more amazing value to customers.
“These special reductions, on top of the value we offer day-in-day-out across our wider network, will help us leave these locations with pride.“And when our doors close in these locations, we’ll look forward to welcoming customers to one of the hundreds of Poundland stores we’ll continue to operate right across the UK.”
Last week Poundland completed the roll out of ‘£1, £2, £3’ pricing simplicity in its grocery aisles, ensuring around 60 per cent of all items sold are £1.
In the coming months the company will extend the new pricing simplicity to its general merchandise and clothing ranges, offering fewer price points and more focused ranges that customers can more easily seethe value on offer.
Poundland has more than a dozen stores across the Black Country where it all began for the company which was founded by entrepreneur Steve Smith and his late father Keith, both from Willenhall, and market trader Dave Dodd.
The first store opened in Burton-On-Trent in December 1990 and the company went on to become one of the most popular on the high street. Like, most high street chains, however, it has suffered since the Covid pandemic from the effects of increased online trading and the cost of living crisis.
The Merry Hill branch closed on July 18 as the company was unable to agree lease terms to continue trading there.
The discount retail chain's Shrewsbury outlet closed on August 10 and the Newport branch on September 28. Branches at Birmingham Fort and Erdington also closed in August.
Poundland's Springvale Distribution Centre at Bilston is earmarked for closure in early 2026.
