Poundstretcher announces plan to open 50 new stores – and workers get 10% pay rise

Poundstretcher has announced its plan to open 50 new sites across the UK before the end of the year.

The popular discount chain believes the new store openings could generate a further 2,000 jobs over the next five years.

The discount chain opened 30 locations across the UK last year and currently has over 350 shops nationwide with over 6,000 employees.

Poundstretcher has not shared a full list of where it plans to open its new sites however, one of its new shops has already opened in Scotland last week.

This new location based in Galashiels opened on January 28 offering customers 50% off selected lines.

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The discount store stated that its profitability has grown since 2020 and that it is now looking towards a "profitable future" that will drive sales, profits and number of stores growth.

Alongside this news, Poundstretcher also announced it was to give its staff a pay rise of 10% from April 1 2023.

All members of staff who have worked for the business for at least one year will be eligible for the increase, which includes more than 70% of its workforce, around 4,000 staff, and the majority of its customer-facing employees.

On this announcement, the 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.”

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This is the second time in the last 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, it 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.

Poundstretcher was established over 40 years ago in 1981 and specialises in selling a variety of discount products across food, toiletries, garden essentials and home-ware brands.

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