Poundstretcher (previously styled as £-stretcher and also previously known as ...instore) is a chain of discount stores operating in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is based in

Kirby Muxloe Kirby Muxloe is a large village and civil parish that forms part of the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England. Located to the west of Leicester, its proximity to the city has resulted in its inclusion in the Leicester Urban Area. The Le ...

, England.

History

Poundstretcher was established in 1981 by Paul Appell and Stephen Fearnley. It became a subsidiary of Brown & Jackson plc, originally a construction firm which can be traced back to 1923, in March 1989. In 1995

Pepkor Pepkor is a South African-based investment and holding company with business interests in Africa, Australia and Eastern Europe. It manages a portfolio of retail chains focused on the value market selling predominantly clothing, footwear and text ...

, South Africa’s largest retailer, acquired a controlling stake in Brown & Jackson plc and refinanced it. Brown & Jackson expanded rapidly with What Everyone Wants and Your More Stores purchased in October 1997 and The Brunswick Warehouse in January 2000. During 2000 the group continued to expand organically, including its first overseas venture with the opening of 6 stores in Poland. During 2002 the group embarked on a major restructuring. The board undertook to dispose of the trading subsidiaries other than Poundstretcher Ltd and this disposal was completed on 27 September 2002. In 2003 the company undertook a rebrand of company name to Instore plc. Poundstretcher stores were gradually being rebranded to ...instore, however in 2006, a new chief executive concluded that the rebranding was not working, and from June 2009, new stores were opened as Poundstretcher after Instore plc was acquired by the Crown Crest Group. In September 2012, the group had 400 stores in the United Kingdom. In May 2011, the company bought Alworths. On 6 February 2012, Poundstretcher acquired 20 stores from the

UGO Ugo is the Italian form of Hugh, a widely used name of Germanic origin. Its diminutive form is Ugolino. It is also a Nigerian Igbo first name. It may refer to: People * Vgo (stonemason), medieval stonemason * Ugo Bassi, a Roman Catholic prie ...

chain, after it was placed in administration. In September 2012, it was announced that out of the 20 stores that were acquired, 14 were to close, and the remaining 6 most profitable outlets would remain as part of the group. In 2018, after

Poundworld Poundworld was a chain of British value variety stores that sold most of its items for £1. It was founded in 1974 by Yorkshire-based father-and-son team Chris Edwards Sr. and Chris Edwards Jr. In contrast to many high street retailers, it ma ...

was shut down, Poundstretcher began to open former stores under the Bargain Buys brand name, which was previously used by the former company. The trademark for Bargain Buys was claimed by Poundstretcher.

In-house Brands

* BeautySave * Life From Coloroll * The Pet Hut * TeliToy

Ownership

After selling Poundstretcher to Philip Harris, Mr. Appell & Mr. Fearnley acquired control of a failing retail business, ''

United News Shops United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

'', which they managed to revitalise. It is now the largest convenience store and cafeteria business servicing British hospitals. In March 2008, ''United News Shops'' was sold to

WHSmith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

. The Poundstretcher Group is now owned by ''Crown Crest Group'', which is run by brothers Rashid & Aziz Tayub.

Outside United Kingdom

In April 2012, Poundstretcher opened its first store outside United Kingdom, at Madina Mall,

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Saving Poundstretcher

In August 2018,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

broadcast ''Saving Poundstretcher'' which focused on former

owner Chris Edwards's attempts to revitalise the chain.Saving Poundstretcher - All 4
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References

External links

Poundstretcher website
{{varietyStores 1981 establishments in the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1981 Companies based in Huddersfield Discount shops of the United Kingdom Retail companies of the United Kingdom Variety stores