Poundland has just opened its 350th PEP&CO clothing shop-in-shop as it accelerated expansion of its family fashion brand in town centres and retail parks where big-name clothing retailers have been in retreat.

The latest PEP&CO to open was at the Poundland store in the John Allen Centre, Cowley, Oxfordshire.

By the end of this financial year in September, Poundland will have PEP&CO shop-in-shops at around 400 stores across the UK and in Ireland where it trades under the Dealz brand.

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It is the latest chapter in a remarkable growth story for PEP&CO which was launched as a single standalone store in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in summer 2015.

There are still 13 standalone stores, but the brand’s growth was turbocharged when it joined the Poundland family which was quickly followed by the opening of the first shop-in-shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

Last year saw the launch of a new mini-PEP&CO format which allows smaller stores to offer a comprehensive clothing range, such as the one at Cowley.

PEP&CO now employs more than 1,600 colleagues in stores, at its dedicated support centre in Watford, and across its distribution network.

From a standing start, it has become firmly established as one of the UK’s favourite clothing brands, with its range of womenswear, menswear and kidswear snapped up by 15 million customers a year. PEP&CO was the 18th largest UK clothing brand by volume, according to Kantar Fashion, as at the 12 weeks ending 30 September 2020.

Since its launch, PEP&CO has racked up:

  •   More than £500 million worth of sales
  •   More than 142 million items sold
  •   More than £30 million worth of jeggings sold.

Jeggings are not the only big seller. Others include T-shirts, pyjamas, shorts, socks and joggers, while the popular school wear range includes polo shirts, trousers, pinafores and blouses.

Sustainability is also a priority for PEP&CO as it grows. By next year over 25 per cent of its cotton will be BCI-approved. The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is a global not-for-profit organisation and the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world, making global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future.

PEP&CO is also working on the introduction of recycled plastic in bags for life and a new in- store hanger recycling programme.

Poundland and PEP&CO commercial director Tim Bettley said: “At a time when many of the big names in clothing retail are disappearing, we’re expanding into more stores and filling a gap for family clothing at discount pricing.

“Whether it’s a full-size PEP&CO shop-in-shop or a mini-PEP&CO, customers love the price, the quality and the convenience of being able to put fashion items in their basket at their local Poundland store.”

Last year, as part of Poundland’s ongoing mission to offer customers more of what they want to buy, the PEP&CO brand was also extended into a range of contemporary homewares.