Poundland parent company Pepco has reported a boost in sales in the lead-up to Christmas and said it expects “another year of consistent performance” in 2023.
Pepco Group, the owner of Poundland, Pepco and Dealz, reported total group revenue of more than €1.6bn (£1.4bn) for the three months to December 31, up 27% on a constant currency basis and 24% on an actual basis.
Group like-for-like sales grew 13%, while Pepco delivered a 19.7% rise and Poundland’s like-for-like sales were up 4.4% during the period, despite the retailer deeming trading conditions to be “challenging”.
Poundland also experienced several record trading days within the quarter and saw a strong surge in sales of sweets and chocolates, as well as its novelty £1 products for gifting.
The discount retailer also said that inflation in clothing and footwear was “running significantly below the headline inflation rates” and that it remains capable of “outperforming its underlying markets”.
Pepco expects “another year of consistent performance” in 2023 as a result of various factors including an increased store-opening target and expansion into Portugal, following on from the group’s opening of 105 new stores during this quarter.
Poundland also added 25 new stores over the quarter, the majority of which were Dealz stores in Poland, while 20 shops in Spain closed down and were converted into Pepco fascias.
Pepco chief executive Trevor Masters said: “We had a very successful Christmas trading period with record trading days at each of our brands, as we continued to outperform the wider market across Europe.
“We benefited from rebuilding our stock to appropriate levels, enabling us to satisfy the strong demand that we experienced. In this very busy trading period, I would like to take this opportunity once again to thank all our colleagues across the Pepco Group for their hard work and ongoing commitment to serving our customers.
“We have seen a strong performance in Western Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain. We had a strong opening in Greece this quarter and we are looking forward to launching in Portugal in spring 2023. In addition, we are excited about the prospects for Dealz in Poland, where we continue to expand rapidly with 16 new stores added this quarter.
“We are increasingly focused on leveraging the scale and diversity of the great business we have built to unlock the potential of the group as a whole, by combining the impressive strengths and capabilities of each of the brands we operate.
“Whilst the market environment continues to be challenging, we remain confident in the strength of our customer proposition and our price leadership position, as well as our ability to deliver against our strategic growth priorities.”
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