Discount store Poundstretcher has announced plans to open 50 new shops in the UK before the end of this year. It said new stores could create up to 2,000 new jobs over the next five years.
Poundstretcher opened 30 new branches in 2022 and now has more than 350 nationwide, employing 6,000 people. It is aiming even higher in 2023.
It has not yet said where every store will be, but one has already opened. The shop in Galashiels, Scotland, opened its doors on January 28, reports the Mirror.
Poundstretcher said its profits had grown since 2020 and it was now looking to a "profitable future". It also said it would be giving staff a 10% pay increase from April 1. All members of staff who have worked for the business for at least one year will be eligible for the rise, which includes more than 70% of its workforce, around 4,000 staff, and the majority of its customer-facing employees.
Owner of Poundstretcher, Aziz Tayub, said: "This 10% pay raise will make a real difference in this current climate to the majority of our employees, who are committed to servicing our customers and growing our business in the current economic climate.”
This is the second time in the past 12 months that the chain has given its staff a wage rise of 10%. Last year it implemented a salary hike to reward staff for their hard work post-pandemic and for the positive turnaround of its profits.
In July 2020, Poundstretcher entered into a Compulsory Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to find a way of offloading high rent stores. In November last year the chain announced it had exited the two-year CVA after repaying its creditors at a rate of 12p to the pound.
Poundstretcher has now paid off around £13 million of what it owed. The brand was established in 1981 and specialises in selling a variety of discount products across food, toiletries, garden essentials and homeware brands.
