Poundland...the beginning of the end?

Wolfetone

Horror of horrors. 

I went to Poundland today to see stuff that was priced at £5/10/30. Have they forgotten their own USP? 

They have just removed their uniqueness and joined the ranks of other low cost businesses competing in a very mature and crowded market. 

Their whole success is built upon a very distinct business model which they have now begun to dilute. 

I predict they will be in trouble in five years. 

Discuss? 

merlin

Fiverland? Tennerland? Thirtyquidland? 

Doesn't quite have the same ring, does it?

fretmeister

They have always sold items more expensive than £1.

EricTheWeary

I'm pretty sure they have as well. 

fretmeister said:

They have always sold items more expensive than £1.

I drive past their main distribution warehouse sometimes and think ' my God there's a lot of crap in there.' 

strumjoughlamps

fretmeister said:

They have always sold items more expensive than £1.

No they haven't, Poundland was always where everything was £1 then they starting bringing in £2 items and 2 for £3 items. Now it's starting to go like Poundstretcher. 

Nunogilberto

Suddenly they've become Stretchedpoundland in an attempt to compete with Poundstretcher and B&M etc...

scrumhalf

Was it seasonal stuff or run of the mill stuff priced at more than £1?

I suppose it shows that it's a broad coalition of pricing and not a fascist price-imposition shop.

WezV

strumjoughlamps said:

fretmeister said:

They have always sold items more expensive than £1.

No they haven't, Poundland was always where everything was £1 then they starting bringing in £2 items and 2 for £3 items. Now it's starting to go like Poundstretcher. 

I am fairly sure they have had things priced over a pound for at least twenty years.

That's probably the last time I went in one. not because I objected to the prices, just because I prefer to buy batteries with a charge in them

stickyfiddle

To be fair to them, £1 doesn't go half as far today as it did when they started. 

Hardly a USP these days with all the 99p stores and whatnot as well.

richh

They'll have to change their name then?  Outrageous.  At this rate GuitarGuitar will be selling basses, totally unacceptable.

EricTheWeary

Just reading some stuff about them online. Interesting when you google this as news sites like to run 'Poundland sell items for more than £1!' stories quite frequently. However, they've clearly been doing it for a few years at least even if you can find it reported as a news story in the last few months.

The everything £1 ethos was part of the original branding so I guess, despite what I said above, that's what they did originally at least.

EricTheWeary said:

I'm pretty sure they have as well. 

fretmeister said:

They have always sold items more expensive than £1.

I drive past their main distribution warehouse sometimes and think ' my God there's a lot of crap in there.' 

Grunfeld

EricTheWeary said:

I drive past their main distribution warehouse sometimes and think ' my God there's a lot of crap in there.'

And much of it comes from one place in China.  Interesting podcast on the whole phenomenon:
99% Invisible, "Inside the world's biggest wholesale market"

lustycourtier

Brexit behaviour 

TheBlueWolf

Most pound shops do it as well. 

EricTheWeary

I occasionally wonder when looking at something like a surfing Santa made in China what the hell the people making it think it is.

Grunfeld said:

EricTheWeary said:

I drive past their main distribution warehouse sometimes and think ' my God there's a lot of crap in there.'

And much of it comes from one place in China.  Interesting podcast on the whole phenomenon:
99% Invisible, "Inside the world's biggest wholesale market"

strumjoughlamps

stickyfiddle said:

To be fair to them, £1 doesn't go half as far today as it did when they started. 

I don't know looking at some of the tat they sell I reckon some of the stuff at cost is will be cheaper than 10-20 years ago.

richardhomer

This is almost as distressing for me as when I found out that frozen food wasn't really made from bird's eyes....

Guitar_Slinger

My special power is that I can go around Poundland and fill my basket with stuff you can buy in other shops for 65p.

strumjoughlamps

Guitar_Slinger said:

My special power is that I can go around Poundland and fill my basket with stuff you can buy in other shops for 65p.

Yep that happens a fair bit now, 70p in B&M or Home Bargains £1 in Poundland/Poundworld

ennspek

Brexitland!

scrumhalf

I know that Poundland have terrible problems in areas where there's a 99p shop as well. Every day the 99p shop staff walk past Poundland waving bags of 1p coins yelling "you're being overcharged".