Barry Williams has returned to the board of struggling Poundland, less than two years after leaving as MD.
Williams was Poundland MD from 2017 until September 2023, when he was parachuted in as MD of its sister retailer in Europe, Pepco, to address underperformance.
His return to the board of Poundland comes with the UK retailer now battling flagging sales.
It is understood he has returned in a supervisory role on an interim basis to run a comprehensive assessment of Poundland and Dealz in the UK and Ireland.
His appointment coincides with Stephan Borchert, CEO of Poundland’s Warsaw-listed owner Pepco Group, stepping down from the board of Poundland Ltd, according to notices filed at Companies House.
Pepco Group chief financial officer Neil Galloway has also stepped down from the board of Poundland Ltd.
Williams held a number of senior roles at Asda, including chief customer officer, before joining Poundland in 2016, initially as trading director.
His departure from Poundland in 2023 saw him replaced by Austin Cooke, who has been the retailer’s MD since.
The developments come after Sky News reported at the weekend that Pepco Group had formally engaged consultants AlixPartners to explore options for turning around Poundland’s performance, raising questions over a possible sale.
Pepco Group has not commented on either the board changes at Poundland Ltd or the reported engagement of AlixPartners.
“As stated at Pepco Group’s quarter one results on 16 January, we are committed to getting Poundland back on track and will provide an update at our Capital Markets Day in early March,” said a Pepco Group spokesperson.
Poundland’s same store like-for-like sales fell 7.3% in the three months to 31 December, while its total revenue fell 9.3% to £475m.
That followed a 3.6% fall in Poundland’s like for like sales in the full year to 30 September 2024, which led to a £650m writedown on Pepco Group’s balance sheet, reflecting the value of its investment when it acquired Poundland in 2016. It drove a £560m net loss for the Warsaw-listed group, which blamed Poundland’s “weak performance” in its annual trading statement.
The underperformance has been blamed in trading updates on the switch in its last financial year to sourcing Poundland’s clothing and general merchandise at group level, with the new ranges suffering from gaps and failing to replicate the previous customer offer.
So far, Poundland has been leaning on its pound shop roots as it grapples to get back on track. Earlier in January it increased the number of products priced at £1 or less from about 1,500 to 2,400, about half its core range. That followed it cutting everyday essential groceries such as bread and milk to £1 in December, under the new slogan ‘Home of the Pound’.
Last week Poundland also announced its “biggest ever investment” in tackling retail crime, after its results revealed the annual cost of stock shrinkage had soared by 30% in two years to more £40m.
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