Shrewsbury pound wars as rival bargain store opens
A retail war between two national discount chains is set to break out in Shrewsbury after Poundworld announced plans to open a shop in the town, creating 30 jobs.
The new shop will open in the town's Pride Hill Shopping Centre on May 1 – putting it in direct competition with rival American franchise Poundland which already has a store in the neighbouring Darwin Shopping Centre.
It comes after both companies featured in the recent BBC television documentary Pound Shop Wars, which charted the competition between the rival discount chains.
Officials in charge of the two shopping centres have welcomed Poundworld's arrival and have said it will help boost the town's economy.
A number of independent traders have opened for business in the two shopping centres in recent weeks, which shopping centre chiefs say have seen 70 new jobs created in the past six months.
Gareth Benton, manager of the new Poundworld shop, said: "We're excited to be opening our first store in Shrewsbury and it's great to be able to create 30 new retail jobs for the town. We're confident that we can tempt people away from Poundland with our fantastic bargains."
Kevin Lockwood, manager of the Darwin and Pride Hill centres, said: "We're delighted to welcome Poundworld to the Shrewsbury Shopping Centres as they will add another element to the retail offer here.
"Poundworld is a major player on the UK high street and this is an important opening for Shrewsbury, bringing very welcome jobs to the area and boosting the local economy."
He added other brands have also made an appearance in the centre recently, including Blue Inc, Hotter Shoes, and Grape Tree. Dozens of independent business have started trading in the centre as well.
Mr Lockwood said: "The opening of independents like Flutterbies, Golden Guitars, Cherry's, Chikpe, Alleyna's, Credible Accessories, Funky Fashions and Vapes as well as two tailors, M and M Tailoring and Shrewsbury Top Tailoring have also added to the mix here.
"The opening of Poundworld would mean that in the last six months we will have created over 70 new jobs here in the Shrewsbury Shopping Centres."
The new shop in Shrewsbury will be the chain's 244th shop in the country and will be on the same floor as Next and HMV.
Poundland declined to comment.
