Poundlandis a British variety store chain founded in 1990. It once sold most items at the single price of £1, including clearance items and proprietary brands. The first pilot store opened in December 1990 following numerous rejections by landlords who had reservations about allowing a single-price store to operate, fearing it could adversely affect the local competition. An estimated 7 million customers shopped in Poundland every week in 2016, many being female shoppers in the C1, C2, D and E categories (the working classes in a system of demographic classification used in the United Kingdom). Following a drop in share price of over 50%, Poundland was acquired in August 2016 by Steinhoff International for £610 million.
The retailer expanded into other European countries during the latter half of 2011, first opening a store in the Republic of Ireland and later operating a subsidiary chain of discount stores in mainland Europe under the name Dealz. Poundland acquired closest rival 99p Stores in 2015, which left Poundworld as their closest competitor until it went bankrupt in 2018. Since August 2018, Poundland has been the category killer of the pound shop format in the United Kingdom.
Poundland opened their biggest retail store in February 2022, around three times the size of an average Poundland store, also selling a wider range of foodstuffs.
