frozen food - Neighbourhood Retailer https://neighbourhoodretailer.com The authoritative voice of the grocery industry in Northern Ireland Wed, 29 Jun 2022 09:17:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://neighbourhoodretailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-NR-SIte-Icon-2-32x32.png frozen food - Neighbourhood Retailer https://neighbourhoodretailer.com 32 32 178129390 Poundland ramps up £1 items in battle for shoppers https://neighbourhoodretailer.com/poundland-ramps-up-1-items-in-battle-for-shoppers/ Wed, 29 Jun 2022 09:17:57 +0000 https://neighbourhoodretailer.com/?p=22901 Poundland is to increase the number of products it sells for a pound as retailers battle for customers. Around half of its products are priced

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]]> Poundland is to increase the number of products it sells for a pound as retailers battle for customers.

Around half of its products are priced at a pound, but the business says by the end of this week 60% of what it sells will be a pound or less.

The discount chain says it is seeing a rise in customer numbers as people seek savings as the cost of living rises.

Recent surveys have suggested customers are spending less on their food shop because of rising prices.

Barry Williams, Managing Director of Poundland said there is now a “definite dynamic” of shoppers migrating away from major supermarkets to the discounters.

“I think you’re seeing a shift, a flight to value, if you like, from the traditional grocers, the major multiples, into the discount channel where we operate. Most discounters are performing better at the moment,” he said.

He says customer numbers are up 5-10% compared with the same period last year.

Mr Williams says people are shopping around and controlling their spending as much as they can.

“What we’re definitely seeing is customers are prioritising essential areas of spend. It’s more around fast moving consumer goods, it’s more around food. .. perhaps a few less items in each basket.”

Sales of frozen food are up, a category which he says tends to perform well at difficult times as it helps shoppers manage waste.

Research firm NielsenIQ in its latest shopping survey found that one in four households were monitoring the overall cost of their shopping basket, including seeking out their favourite brands at value retailers like Poundland and Home Bargains.

Mr Williams said with inflation soaring to its highest level in years, Poundland’s one pound price point is being expanded to make it easier for customers to manage their budgets. Two thirds of the products will be branded goods.

“Customers are being really mindful about how much they spend, this is a really easy way for them to control that spend as well,” he said.

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]]> 22901 Poundland to roll out chilled and frozen sections in half its NI stores https://neighbourhoodretailer.com/poundland-to-roll-out-chilled-and-frozen-sections-in-half-its-ni-stores/ Tue, 19 Oct 2021 13:26:03 +0000 https://neighbourhoodretailer.com/?p=18756 Budget retailer Poundland is to roll out chilled and frozen sections in its Northern Ireland stores in the next few weeks. The retailer has announced

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]]> Budget retailer Poundland is to roll out chilled and frozen sections in its Northern Ireland stores in the next few weeks.

The retailer has announced it will introduce chilled and frozen sections in around half its stores in Northern Ireland by the end of next month and has already trialled the new ranges in its Cookstown, Armagh and Lisnagelvin shops over the past six months.

Poundland said it will now roll it out into 13 more stores by the end of November. The retailer has around 33 stores in Northern Ireland and also owns the Dealz chain in the Republic.

Country manager Olivia McLoughlin told Neighbourhood Retailer that the budgeter will be rolling out its chilled and frozen offering into the Republic of Ireland in 2022 as well as trialling other new products, services and ranges.

“From a frozen foods point of view we recently acquired the Fultons – they’re frozen food specialists who are helping power our rapid entry into that category.

The new ranges will include ready meals, pies and pizzas, as well as frozen desserts and ice-cream.

The chilled and frozen sections have already been installed in around 200 GB stores over the past two years. Poundland moved to acquire frozen food supplier Fulton Foods in October 2020.

Olivia McLoughlin has said that Poundland has already opened a number of stores across Ireland and more are in the pipeline.

“It’s not just about store openings, it’s also about the transformation of our offer for customers.”

Project Diamond

The rollout is known as Project Diamond, and Poundland has described the £25 million investment in chilled and frozen as part of the biggest transformation in its 30-year history.

Olivia McLoughlin says that the chain never changed its pricing during the pandemic.

“While others in retail who maybe operate with a high/low strategy have removed promotions etc, we run on set pricing. This means we’ve been able to maintain our prices and offer great value to all of our customers which has been a great thing to be able to do during the pandemic.”

The company is also introducing its PEP&CO clothing and home ranges to stores that don’t already have them.

“We are also looking to move to towns where we know there is demand for us, We are looking at towns where we have a Dealz or Poundland store, but we don’t have PEP&CO,” she said.

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