The BBC documentary series ‘Pound Shop Wars’ filmed the grand opening of Poundworld’s 248th store in Hemel Hempstead in July, after producers had their interest peaked by the shop’s head-to-head battle with the local American-owned Poundland.
The new Poundworld store, which created 30 retail jobs, promises to stock 5,000 products for the bargain price of £1 and that ‘savvy shoppers can take advantage of consistently great deals to drive down the cost of their weekly shop’.
The Mayor of Hemel Hempstead gave a warm welcome to the town’s new pound shop, and said that there was no harm in the local competition, adding: “It’s a good thing for the borough that shops are not boarded up – we want to see all units in use, and it is going to increase footfall.
“I don’t think a little competition between pound shops will do any harm at all. Some people have low incomes and need places like this – it is amazing how many brand names are sold here.”
Chris Edwards Junior, trading director at Poundworld, said: “We’re excited to be opening our first store in Hemel Hempstead creating 30 new retail jobs for the area.
“Our store has a wonderful range and is in a prime location so we’re confident that we can tempt people away from Poundland with our fantastic bargains.
“We hope shoppers will take advantage of the great deals we have on a vast range that includes branded and value products, from groceries to cleaning products and pet care.”
The BBC documentary -which was first broadcast on BBC1 in 2012 - follows the competition between rival pound shops, focusing around Poundworld. Each episode explores behind the scenes of stores throughout the country with episodes like: ‘The battle of the bra’, ‘£1 crime spree’ and ‘Too posh to pound shop?.
The 2014 series has been extremely popular with viewers, even topping BBC ratings with 5.4 million viewers in February. One particularly popular episode saw Poundworld CEO Chris Edward moving beyond the well-known cardboard cut-out policemen used to deter thieves to employing undercover detectives to catch the culprits. Despite each item only costing £1, Mr Edward claimed that light-fingered visitors were costing Poundworld a whopping £5million a year.