Poundland Harlow depot gets the green light

Poundland has been given the green light to build a new distribution centre in Harlow, Essex in the same week that it unveiled a major overhaul of its in-store marketing.

Local councillors have approved the discount retailer’s £40m plans, first submitted in February, to redevelop an office block into a 350,000-sq ft depot to serve its entire UK estate. The depot is expected to create 650 jobs when it becomes operational in 2014.

It is welcome news for many in the Harlow area after Tesco announced the closure of a distribution centre in the town - also in February - in a major restructuring of its UK distribution network, affecting 800 jobs.

Meanwhile, Poundland said its new in-store marketing, which has been rolled out to its entire Poundland and Dealz estate, seeks to simplify customer information as the number of items the retailer stocks increases.

“The new-look shopper experience was launched to help customers easily navigate their way around the store and clearly identify the amazing value products on offer,” Poundland said in a statement.

The main changes to the point-of-sale strategy concern the retailer’s signage, with window posters highlighting promotional offers, different product categories, shelf strips and permanent perimeter signs to communicate its ‘Amazing Value Everyday’ message and to highlight products recently added, as well as the addition of entrance/exit signs.

“The point-of-sale overhaul is a significant change and step forward for the business. It has improved our shopper experience whilst reinforcing our amazing value everyday proposition, which has been reflected in the positive sales reactions we’ve had since the rollout was implemented,” said Poundland’s trading director Richard Lancaster.