Dealz announced it plans to introduce the discount clothing line Pep&Co to half of its stores in addition to opening up to 10 more stores in the country this year, the Irish Examiner reported.
The discounter plans to shake up the Irish clothing sector by introducing the clothing and footwear line in 30 of its current 61 stores in the country, according to managing director Barry Williams.
Pep&Co is owned by South African parent company Steinhoff, which also runs Poundland in the UK. It offers items costing an average of €5 and is supplied from manufacturers in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The clothing line was launched by Andy Bond, former head of UK retailer Asda’s George clothing range, and is now taking aim at other discount fashion retailers in the Irish market like Penneys, which is owned by Associated British Foods.
It will invest up to €5 million in Dealz stores and is already available in some Poundland stores in Northern Ireland.
Steinhoff Scandal
Williams said the company was set to have 70 Dealz stores in the country by the end of he year, a sign that the it’s planning to expand in Ireland, in spite of the accounting scandals surrounding parent company Steinhoff over the past months.
Steinhoff shares lost 90% of their value following the December 5 announcement of an investigation into the company's finances and the stepping down of CEO, Markus Jooste.
The company said it was seeking near-term liquidity for some of its business units at the time.
The group is currently valued at about €1.66 billion and operates 850 Poundland and Dealz stores in the UK and Ireland as well as other significant retail business on the continent and in the US.
“Thanks to our partnership with Poundland, and now Dealz in the Republic of Ireland, we’re set to double in size over the coming year, helping us to drive economies of scale to keep prices low,” the company said.
© 2018 - Checkout Magazine by Kevin Duggan
