Poundland will be reopening 29 of its temporarily closed stores across the UK this Friday (26 February), with more to follow over the next few weeks.

At the start of the third natioanl lockdown the budget retail chain announced it would be placing stores in "temporary hibernation" despite being allowed to remain open as an essential retailer.

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The discount retailer closed 44 of its stores in January due to ongoing lockdown restrictions, but will be gradually opening them back up in the “coming weeks”.

At the time, Austin Cooke, Poundland’s retail director said: “We learned valuable lessons during the lockdown in March about how buying patterns change as people stick to government advice to stay at home.

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“Putting a small number of stores into hibernation helps protect them for the long term and focus our attention on the majority of stores that remain open to serve their neighbourhoods.

“We hope this lockdown is short and we can re-open our hibernating stores as quickly as possible and we remain grateful for the vital support schemes available to us that help protect jobs.”

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“Operation Spring Back”

Poundland has dubbed its reopening plans as “Operation Spring Back”, which comes following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday (22 February) detailing the roadmap out of lockdown.

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Of the 84 stores that are currently closed, a total of 29 will reopen from Friday (26 February) including 18 in England, five in Scotland, one in Wales, four in Northern Ireland and one in the Republic of Ireland.

The remaining 55 shops will then reopen to customers in the “coming weeks”, the retailer has said.

However, some stores that are based in larger shopping centres may have to wait until 12 April, when non-essential shops are permitted to reopen in England.

Poundland has said it is working closely with landlords and shopping centres on plans to reopen its stores.

The news comes after the retailer decided in January to shut 44 of its stores after reporting an 80 per cent drop in customers as a result of lockdown restrictions.

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These closures were then followed by additional 40 stores in the following few weeks, with the majority of these stores being based in towns where there is more than one Poundland shop.

The retailer’s remaining 800 stores have continued to stay open to serve customers throughout the national lockdown.

Customers will have to continue to maintain social distancing while in stores, and regular cleaning will take place to ensure the safety of both shoppers and staff.

Poundland retail director, Austin Cooke, said: “We’re proud to have kept most of our stores open serving our communities with the essentials they need, but in some places, we couldn’t stay open when so many of our neighbours were forced to close.

“The roadmap is good news for retailers and our town centres which have such an important role to play in our recovery and our colleagues and customers will be delighted that we’re reopening in these locations, and so are we.

“Safety continues to be our first priority, and shoppers can return with confidence - we’re well versed in making our stores a safe place to shop. We’re all looking forward to giving them a warm welcome as they return.”

Which stores are reopening?

The following 29 UK stores that have been temporarily closed will reopen to customers from Friday 26 February from 8am.

England

  • Barrow in Furness Hindpool Retail Park
  • Bletchley
  • Bletchley Brunel Shopping Centre
  • Bridgwater Angel Place Shopping Centre
  • Burnley 82 Charter Walk Shopping Centre
  • Colchester Culver Street
  • Farnham
  • Gateshead Metro Centre Shopping Centre
  • Haverhill
  • Hereford
  • Kidderminster Worcester Street
  • Liverpool Williamson Square
  • Mansfield Four Seasons Shopping Centre
  • Middlesbrough Captain Cook Square Shopping Centre
  • Newcastle under Lyme Castle Walk
  • Ormskirk Two Saints Retail Park
  • Oswestry
  • Trowbridge

Scotland

  • Clydebank
  • Inverness High Street
  • Kirkcaldy
  • Motherwell
  • Perth

Wales

  • Swansea Fforestfach Retail Park

Northern Ireland

  • Belfast Castlecourt Shopping Centre
  • Enniskillen Erneside Shopping Centre
  • Londonderry Ferryquay Street
  • Newry Buttercrane Shopping Centre

Republic of Ireland

  • Dublin Mary Street