Discounter Pepco targets new store openings as customers fly to value

Pepco Group, which listed on the Warsaw stock exchange last year, and owns discounters such as Pepco, Poundland and Dealz, is planning on opening at least a net 550 stores in its 2022-23 financial year, including taking the Pepco brand into Greece and Portugal.

Pepco opened a net 516 stores in 2021/22, currently trading from 3,961, and has long-term ambitions to open 20,000 stores. 

The new store openings were published in the retail group’s trading update for the financial year ending September 30, 2022, where group revenues jumped 17.4% to €4.8bn (£4.22bn) with full-year like-for-like growth of 5.2%. 

Pepco sales were up 28.7% and Poundland revenues were up 5% on a constant currency basis. 

The group said full-year EBITDA would be within a range of €735m (£645.8m) to €750m (£659m), which is within expectations. 

The retailer said in its results that demand for its products “remains strong even against the backdrop of significant uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, exacerbated by the impact of geopolitical events”.

Pepco Group chief executive Trevor Masters said: “These are very challenging times for families across Europe, and we remain absolutely committed to helping customers on a budget by offering great range, value and convenience – and we are confident this will enable us to expand our customer base going forward.

“After another year of good progress, we are accelerating our profitable store-expansion programme – our biggest source of value creation – and store refit strategy, helping to drive like-for-like sales growth. Following recent successful openings, we will be launching the Pepco brand in the new markets of Greece and Portugal in FY23. We are also trialling our broadest offering of clothing, general merchandise and FMCG under the Pepco banner in a handful of stores in Ireland.”

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