The new opening is part of the company’s expansion and transformation programme and follows a series of store openings across Northern Ireland.

A number of the positions have been filled by some of those who lost their jobs when other businesses closed in Omagh recently.

Poundland’s new 7,600 sq ft store will be located at the former Menary’s shop at the Showgrounds Retail Park.

The new Omagh store, will also have one of the largest PEP&CO fashion and home departments in Northern Ireland covering well over half the sales floor.

PEP&CO, which has become one of the top 20 clothing brands in the UK, despite launching just seven years ago, is on a mission to help families spend less on clothing.

In Omagh there will be a wide range of PEP&CO clothing for the whole family, including womenswear, from jeggings to dresses, menswear, from polo tops to jeans, and kids’ clothing from PJs to school wear.

Omagh will also feature a selection of chilled and frozen food for shoppers as it extends into new categories to help families save money.  Poundland’s frozen food sales are growing rapidly as customers look to manage their household budgets by minimising waste.

It will also have the very latest PEP&CO Home range, including throws, cushions, photo frames and decorative pieces to choose from.

Welcoming the new store to the town, Chairman of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Errol Thompson said he welcomed the Poundland investment in the district’s retail offering.

He said: “As Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, and an Omagh Town Councillor, I welcome investment in the retail sector in Omagh, the county town of Tyrone, and within the wider District to boost our local economy, ensure our towns and villages remain vibrant and create jobs for our residents.

“It is important that we continue to support and invest in our towns and villages as we continue to move forward following the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Poundland’s Country Manager, Olivia McLoughlin, said: “We’re delighted to be opening another store in Omagh and proud to be able to create up to 25 new jobs, especially for those recently made unemployed when other businesses closed.

“We’re proud to be expanding, growing and creating opportunities right across Northern Ireland.

“We can’t wait to bring Omagh customers the best we can offer under one roof in our new store.

“We know the rise in cost of living is a big deal for customers at the moment – through the amazing value we offer, we’ll do all we can to help.

“We are looking forward to taking our place alongside our new neighbours at Showgrounds Retail Park and to playing a prominent role in the Omagh community.”

Now part of Pepco Group with over 3,500 stores across Europe (as of 31 January 2022), Poundland also trades internationally through its Dealz brand

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The promise comes as it reported an increase of 17.5% in first-half revenue, driven by new store openings.

The group, which listed on the Warsaw stock market last May, said it would continue to drive its growth agenda while cutting the costs of doing business.

“This will enable us to offset the majority of our input inflation, allowing us to protect prices for our cost-conscious customers,” said interim chief executive Trevor Masters.

He warned that the market Pepco operates in is likely to stay volatile in the near term, because of inflationary pressures and the conflict in Ukraine, which borders three of the company’s largest operating territories.

Inflation in Ireland hit a 22 year high of 6.7% in March, while UK inflation hit a 30-year high of 7% in March.

In the 19-country euro zone it surged to 7.5% in March, hitting another record, with months to go before it is set to peak.

Pepco said revenue totalled €2.37 billion in the six months to March 31 as it opened 192 new stores, taking the total to 3,696 across 17 countries.

It said like-for-like sales growth was 5.3%, driven by growth of 12.1% in the second quarter.

Pepco, which does not trade online bar a small Poundland trial, forecast first-half core earnings (EBITDA) within a range of €342-350m.

“Within this range, the group remains on track to meet guidance for the full year in the absence of any further significant deterioration in the macro environment,” it said.

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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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While Poundland is currently trialling e-commerce in some parts of the UK, she insists that what the chains offer will always require a physical presence.

“”From a discount retailing point of view, there will always be a place for bricks and mortar stores and we are certainly very proud of ours,” Olivia says, in an in-depth interview with Neighbourhood Retailer.

“In the UK, Poundland is trialling e-commerce in limited postcode areas so we can learn, but our focus is around how we make our stores bigger and better, and places where customers want to spend more time.”

Marmite

Oliva describes retail as ‘Marmite’ and says she has never wanted to do anything else. 

“I love being in a business which has so much energy and pace and due to the transformation, it feels like a young and vibrant business and only on the cusp of what we can achieve,” she says.

“It is also exciting to me that, while the Dealz brand was born in Ireland, it now operates across Europe, currently trading from over 200 locations.

“Retail is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it and certainly I have loved it since my first day. I have no aspirations to do anything else.”

Olivia says the ‘people culture’ she absorbed in her previous roles in Dixons Carphone and Claire’s Accessories fits nicely with Dealz and Poundland where people have always been at the forefront of who they are.

“We look at how we incorporate people-led and service-led agendas, which historically may not have been what our customers would necessarily expect from discount retailers,” she says.

That people-focused approach served cash strapped customers well during the pandemic, she says.

“It provided an opportunity to continue to offer great value to our customers who have always been price conscious but found themselves in a difficult situation due to the pandemic,” she says.

“It’s important to point out that we never changed our pricing. 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.”

Investment

The chain recently announced a €20 million investment over three years that will create more than 500 jobs across Ireland and is bringing its PEP&CO clothing and home ranges to stores that don’t currently have them.

Its chilled and frozen ranges are being rolled out in Northern Ireland and into the Republic in 2022.

“At no time during the pandemic have we stood still and we have no intention of standing still in the future, “ Olivia says.

“Our business has really evolved based on what our customers are telling us. We stay close to our customers, speak to them regularly and react to their needs.”

Read the full interview with Olivia HERE.

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