Famous retail chain closing more stores amidst chaotic new change

It's no secret that it isn't the best time in the world to be a retailer. 

Whether you're a discount chain with a lot of physical locations or an online retailer battling with competitors to keep prices as low as possible, the landscape is rife with challenges. 

Related: Home Depot local rival closing permanently after 120 years

And recent changes have forced retailers to rethink how they do business. 

A little over five years ago, when Covid first swept through the nation, many stores were used to putting their physical footprint first. 

That means the businesses prioritized in-person shopping first and foremost, and for a while, this was a winning model. 

Malls and shopping centers bustled for decades. 

In the 1980s and 1990s, at the height of the American indoor shopping mall, the average shopper spent 12 hours per month in a mall. 

That equals out to three hours per week, ostensibly on the weekend. 

That's a lot of time, and it certainly wasn't wasted — at least not from a retailer's perspective. 

Brick-and-mortar shopping has changed

Of course, things have shifted over the past several decades. 

Covid radically upended how we shop. 

While online shopping has been on the rise for years, particularly as giants like Amazon and Walmart scale up fast delivery, a sudden country-wide shutdown forced retailers to rethink everything. 

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When social distancing and coerced closures became a part of our daily dialogue, stores that relied on foot traffic — like mall retailers — saw profits dwindle. 

Suddenly, having a store in a heavily populated area and relying on customers to come to you was no longer an ironclad business model. 

This forced many retailers to focus their efforts on e-commerce. Those who could afford to pivot their inventory and logistics to online — and even had a little left over for marketing — managed to survive. 

But plenty of others either barely scraped by or shuttered entirely. 

Popular discount chain closing more stores

Covid isn't the only grim reaper responsible for closing stores around the globe. 

The wider shift to online shopping — and cheaper, accessible alternatives cropping up daily — has stuck around long after Covid retreated from the public picture. 

One retailer in the midst of an ongoing struggle is Poundland, the popular discount retailer with over 800 locations around the UK and Ireland. 

Related: Lowe's making drastic store change to beat Home Depot

Poundland is located mostly around travel hubs like train and bus stations. It sells convenient everyday items for busy travelers and commuters, but as the cost of living skyrockets in Europe, customers have been shopping less. 

So it has plans to close up to 200 stores as Poundland attempts to right the ship.

And now, Poundland is closing three more stores in the following districts:

• Filton
• Chiswick, London  
• Cowes

All told, Poundland has shuttered six stores in May 2025.

Poundland's parent company, Pepco Group, has put the retail chain up for sale. 

It's expected to be sold for as little as one English pound, which indicates how much upfront capital will likely be required to help turn the business around.