Onlinepoundstore.co.uk was launched in February

A rival is looking to snap up website onlinepoundstore.co.uk, its founder has claimed.

Garry Almond, who launched the site in February, said the company had been approached by “a big retailer” who had “offered to buy it out”.However, he refused to be drawn on the identity of the interested party.

Variety discounters yet to launch online are likely to be interested in the site. Neither B&M Bargains nor 99p Stores currently offer online shopping. However, 99p Stores commercial director Hussein Lalani told The Grocer earlier this year it would look to launch a transactional site this summer. Poundworld is already trading online, with Poundland set to trial an ecommerce site over the next few months.

Almond said the site had had 600,000 visits since its launch, was now handling 300 transactions a week and had generated total sales of £210,000. He added that he would “never say never” to selling the business, but would “like to see through the Christmas trade”.

He added that the surge in hits to the site had been “phenomenal”, and the company had made seven hires to support the operation, as well as expanding its on-site space by 1,000 sq ft.

“On some lines there is little margin,” he admitted, “but we want to get the wheels spinning. We might not be making money at the moment but we’re investing and it’s paying off.”

The site was launched by Manchester-based wholesaler B&J Supplies, but Almond said it was now trading separately.

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