BBC News, West Midlands<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The founder of Poundland has said he tried to buy the firm back when he heard it was up for sale.<\/p>\n Steve Smith’s business venture began on a market stall in Bilston where he sold items for \u00a31, with the first Poundland store opening in Burton-upon-Trent in 1990 and Mr Smith selling his shares in the firm for \u00a3250m in 2006.<\/p>\n The business, which currently has 792 stores in the UK and Ireland and employs about 16,000 people, was sold last week to US investment firm Gordon Brothers.<\/p>\n “I would’ve liked to have bought it back because I’m still passionate about the people and the concept,” Mr Smith said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The businessman, who grew up in Willenhall, said: “I’m proud that 85% of the population have bought something from the shop.<\/p>\n “I did pick up the phone when I heard it was for sale but I was a bit too late,” Mr Smith said.<\/p>\n Poundland is also seeking rent reductions from landlords which, together with leases expiring on some stores, could result in about 70 shop closures in the future.<\/p>\n A distribution centre at Darton, South Yorkshire, and its national distribution centre at Bilston in the West Midlands have also been earmarked for closure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mr Smith, who now lives in Shropshire, admitted he was sad but not entirely surprised at the news of the business needing to restructure. <\/p>\n “I’m sorry to hear that Poundland are closing so many stores, it wasn’t just me that started the business but the people that worked there.<\/p>\n “I do think it was inevitable, this was going to happen because I experienced it on the market stall with our prices going from 10p to 20p and so on.<\/p>\n “Customers are used to the \u00a31 concept but as the price point changes so do our prices.”<\/p>\n He said while he understood the need for price increases more would have been needed to help support the business, in his opinion.<\/p>\n “It’s still a one prince concept, that’s what customers loved and what made Poundland different,” he said, “but I would’ve changed the price point and I think it does need new systems [and] it’s important the business get support from their suppliers.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Steven](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/c47d\/live\/ec60a820-4c1f-11f0-86d5-3b52b53af158.png.webp\")
Steven Smith<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘I would’ve changed the price’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n