THE VISIONARY behind Poundland has told how he dreamt up Britain’s first £1 store – and revealed the secret to its success.
Dad-of-two Steve Smith, 60, was raised on a Wolverhampton market stall before discovering the country’s obsession with a bargain.
Poundland co-founder Steve Smith outside Poundland Store in BirminghamNigel Iskander
Dad-of-two Steve Smith (left aged 27), 60, co-founded Poundland with his Dad Keith (right) in 1990Steve Smith
Steve’s wife Tracy, 59, ran HR and payroll and the couple’s two children Joe, 24, and Ashley, 28, still work for the companySteve Smith
Steve credits one bright idea for its billion-pound success.
He said: “The brighter stores did better. While other shops at the time had 40W lightbulbs, we had 50W.
“I always listened to the customers, sometimes just changing one thing made a huge difference.”
He spent his childhood selling everything from toiletries to electrics alongside his parents on a stall at Bilston Market in Birmingham.
Aged 27 he took a £50,000 loan from his businessman dad Keith to set up the first Poundland store in Burton-on-Trent.
The business boomed, making £13,000 in its first day.
Steve told the Sun Online: “No one believed in the idea. I had to convince landlords to lease us a space. Everyone said ‘how can you find enough products, it’ll never work’. It did work.”
The first shop, which opened on December 13, 1990, sold 648 different products including toiletries and confectionery.
Steve added: “It’s amazing what you can get for a pound.”
Steve’s wife Tracy, 59, ran HR and payroll and the couple’s two children Joe, 24, and Ashley, 28, still work for the company.
The business is now worth £5billion, but the family sold it for a huge £200m in 2006.
Steve said his parents couldn’t afford a babysitter, so they’d put him under the market stall table as a baby.
He said: “I learnt everything from my parents. They used to sell pens, 144 in a box, around the factories.
“They’d go door to door selling. I’ve gone from a market stall to a global businessman and absolutely loved the journey.”
While on the market stall the family sold items in cardboard boxes for 10p, and found they made more money on those boxes than anything else.
He added: “That’s what sparked the idea for the pound store. No one else was doing it at the time. We were the first. People just love a bargain.”
Steve and his dad Keith founded the business in 1990.
The pound coin, first created in 1983 to replace the discontinued £1 bank note, inspired an ambitious idea.
But it was difficult to convince landlords that selling only items for a pound was going to make money.
Steve’s dad Keith had sold up his successful cash and carry business Hooty’s and moved to Majorca in 1989.
Steve added: “I said ‘dad I want to be in retail’. He said remember that cardboard box.
“Let’s sell things for a pound. In April 1990 I came back to the UK from Majorca, where my Dad had retired, with a £50k loan.
“We started in a little office in Sedgley with a fax machine. I had to convince landlords to lease us a space.
“I had an artist do a sketch of what the shop would look like. Everyone said how can you find enough products. It’ll never work.
“We’ve had golf clubs for a pound. It’s amazing what you can get for a pound. Toiletries and confectionery. It was very difficult. We had no buying power.
“How the customers reacted was amazing.”
Steve opened a second store in Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield, which was his “big break”.
“From there we were able to say ‘if we’re good enough for Meadowhall, we’re good enough for you’,” he added.
“We aimed to make £1m, then £10m, then £100m then £10bn. It’s now worth over £5bn.
“And 90 per cent of the population of the UK has been in or shopped at a Poundland store. We’ve had many celebrities. Everyone loves the concept of a bargain. They’re smart shoppers.”
Steve as a child with his sister and parents in 1966Steve Smith
Steve SmithSteve asked an artist to design his shopfront plan[/caption]
An original logo designSteve Smith
Steve SmithSteve was practically raised on a stall at Bilston Market in Birmingham[/caption]
Steve SmithSteve’s parents Keith and Maureen (pictured) sold everything from electrics to toiletries and one-band radios[/caption] Read More