Professor Sarah Montano, a retail expert from the University of Birmingham, said: “The real problem for Poundland is, when they first started it was really great because everything was £1, that was a really unique selling point for them.
“[Today] there’s competitors which are offering very similar prices and for quite a lot of products they’re offering them cheaper.”
She added that some competitors had “really got their finger on the key trends”.
In a statement, the board of Poundland Limited said it had been “working on a formal sale process for Poundland” and despite “enormous efforts it has not been possible to identify an acceptable offer for the business as a whole”.
“The process has however attracted several established retail operators who have made formal offers, collectively these cover a significant part of the business, and we believe offer the best available prospects for shareholders, creditors and to preserve jobs,” they said.
“We recognise any sale process creates uncertainty and particularly when set against a challenging UK economic environment.”
They also thanked “staff, suppliers and customers for their continued support”.
