Pound shops are one of the fastest growing retail sectors, boosted by consumers keen to bag a bargain in economic hard times. This warm and witty documentary follows the extremely rapid expansion of two family-run retail businesses, as they both race to dominate the high street. 99p Stores Ltd is run by the dynamic Hussein Lalani and is based in Northampton. The family-run firm has 160 shops at the start of filming in February 2012, predominantly situated in the south. Hussein is determined to expand north, bringing him into direct competition with Yorkshire-based pound shop chain Poundworld. Charismatic MD Chris Edwards began his family business with a single market stall in Wakefield, and his elderly mother Alice still pops into HQ each morning to make him toast. At the beginning of the documentary, Poundworld has 130 shops, mostly in the north, and Chris is keen to open more stores in the south. Meanwhile both companies have to compete with the UK's largest pound store chain, private equity-funded Poundland. Whenever 99p Stores opens a new shop, they put on a show with entertainment, balloons and a 99-second trolley dash - but Hussein discovers that supermarket sweeps aren't going to attract the posh customers of Chester. In Salford it's a different story, with one new customer thrilled to be able to buy a handbag for her wedding for just 99p. Poundworld's customer service trainer Denise sees her company as 'the Harrods of pound shops', but will shoppers in the south feel the same way? Can the 99p Stores expand quickly enough to retain their market position, or will Chris's Poundworld chain catch up? The two family businesses are in direct competition - even opening some stores right next door to each other - but who will come out on top?
In this entertaining four-part series, the Pound Shop Wars kick off with Poundworld's biggest rival, Poundland, reducing all their prices by 3p in East Ham. CEO Chris Edwards retaliates by launching what he thinks is a brand new bargain - the £1 bra. The Burnley store's assistant manager, Ian Gilbert - aka 'The Grafter with Laughter' - hopes it's going to be a 'breast seller!'. But will a £1 bra really attract more shoppers in? Every day, Chris's 86-year-old mum Alice clocks in. She is the self-appointed 'Fat Controller', whose job is to keep her son on a healthy diet. Alice and Chris's family has a Traveller background; when the fairground comes to town, they meet up with relatives and friends. Chris wants to open more shops, and believes he needs to raise money by cutting back on staff. Regional manager Craig believes this is damaging customer service. Chris sends his cost-cutting expert Ian Hamilton back to the shop floor to check. Will this strategy really affect customer service?
Poundworld CEO Chris Edwards is opening a new store in Peterborough, just yards away from the city's longest-running small independent pound shop, owned by Zaffer Iqbal. Zaffer faces a David and Goliath battle as he vows to take on the national chain. With several pound shops in the town and the supermarket chains muscling in on the pound deal, is this arrival the last straw for the small retailer? The battle is fierce, and even Zaffer's own workers' loyalty is tested, with one ending up shopping in the rival pound giants. In Burnley, assistant manager Ian Gilbert has secretly ordered a record number of cold drinks to cash in on the good weather, but there may be clouds on the horizon; can Ian sell his stash of soft drinks before no-nonsense regional manager Craig Atkinson pays a visit? At the HQ warehouse, a new CCTV system is set up to catch workers grazing on shop stock. Will this new Big Brother approach stop the warehouse workers from pilfering? Every day, Chris's 86-year-old mum Alice clocks in. She is the self-appointed 'Fat Controller', whose job is to keep her son on a healthy diet. Alice and Chris's family has a Traveller background; when the fairground comes to town, they meet up with relatives and friends. Chris wants to open more shops, and believes he needs to raise money by cutting back on staff. Regional manager Craig believes this is damaging customer service. Chris sends his cost-cutting expert Ian Hamilton back to the shop floor to check. Will this strategy really affect customer service?
Poundworld CEO Chris Edwards is facing an assault on all fronts, and it's not just from his rival stores. Facing a £1 shoplifting epidemic, Chris decides to stop relying on his cardboard coppers and instead employ undercover store detectives to catch the culprits. Each item may only be priced at £1, but Chris believes it is costing his company up to £5 million a year. Elsewhere, a big discount retail chain is trying to poach Chris's staff. Will the manager of Colwyn Bay's Poundworld, Sally Pritchard, be tempted by a 20% pay rise? Chris prepares to open a new shop in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland but his head of human resources, Frances Dove, makes a shocking discovery; just around the corner from their new premises, there is another shop called Poundworld already trading. Chris discovers the store is owned by a rival company; can he persuade them to change their name in time for Chris's new shop's big opening?
Chris fights to win customers who would not normally visit a pound shop - the middle classes. He also tries to make pound shop history by becoming the first to go online. With austerity hitting his core customers and more competitors than ever before, Chris needs to find new markets to grow his empire. With signs that the middle classes are warming to the idea of pound shopping, Chris opens a store in one of the few places in Britain that does not have a pound shop - affluent Harrogate. But some locals are horrified, and he faces a fight to win over the upmarket town. The Pound Shop Wars enter cyberspace as as Chris also goes online, launching what he hopes will be Britain's first online pound store. It is a venture that sees him getting into bed with an unlikely business partner - the founder and original owner of Britain's biggest pound shop chain and his arch-rival, Poundland. Before long, the press gets hold of the story and three mums from Devon decide to try to beat him by opening their own one pound store online. As well as winning new markets, Chris is also fighting to keep hold of the customers he already has. Faced with the might of Tesco and Asda, now muscling in on the £1 phenomenon, Chris fights back by launching Great Britain's first pound shop mascot - Mr Pound. The mascot is deployed at the opening of one of Tesco's biggest-ever stores, where Chris is also opening a shop less than 100 meters away. It is one man in a foam pound suit against the marketing might of Britain's biggest supermarket.
A gaping hole is left in Chris's management team as some of his top staff defect.
Boss Chris is tipped off by his granddaughter that the latest trend is loom bands.
The CEO of Poundland, Chris Edwards, is back with ambitious plans for expansion.
Poundworld owner Chris Edwards decides he wants a piece of the multi-price pie and believes that his team have now come up with a new brand that will stand out from his competitors called Bargain Buys.
Rival stores in Cardiff and Swansea compete for the Best Halloween Pound Shop in South Wales award, with the staff hoping to secure vital revenue at one of the busiest times of the year. Meanwhile, Poundworld CEO Chris Edwards faces a backlash from customers and the advertising authorities over his Manager's Specials, which include some items selling for more than a pound
Chris Edwards decides the time is right to expand his Poundworld empire southward, where rival franchises rival Chris's discount brand 70 shops to zero. Flying to the south coast from his headquarters in Yorkshire, Chris embarks on a one-man charm offensive in the hopes of promoting his business. However, plans to open a store in market town of Sevenoaks are met with resistance by locals, reigniting the `too posh for a pound shop' debate. Preparations to open a store in Brighton also fall through, leaving Chris a single branch in Southampton as his most southerly outpost - and there are signs that shoppers might already be experiencing `pound shop fatigue'. Meanwhile, Poundworld seeks new revenue by expanding into the wholesale business, supplying other discount stores - including some competitors - with much-needed stock
Chris Edwards secures a deal with Disney to produce a range of official merchandise for the film Frozen. Poundland must follow strict branding and quality rules, so Chris flies to China to source, manufacture and ship 80 new products ready for the run up to Christmas
Britain's biggest pound shop chain, Poundland, suddenly launches a shock bid to buy the second largest fixed-price chain in the UK, 99p Stores.
