List of discount shops in the United Kingdom
Appearance
This is a list of the current and defunct discount chains of the United Kingdom. This list does not include discount supermarket chains which can be found at list of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom.
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List of current discount shops
Brand | Image | Founded / Came to UK |
Owner | # of shops |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
B & M | ![]() |
1978 | B&M European Value Retail S.A. | 800+ | The business was founded by Malcolm Billington as Billington & Mayman and the first store opened in Cleveleys, England, in 1978 and was acquired by Simon and Bobby Arora from Phildrew Investments in December 2004 |
Bargain Buys | ![]() |
2013 | Fortress Investment Group | 75 | Brand launched by Poundworld founder Chris Edwards to replace former DiscountUK brand, which closed with failure of parent company. Restarted as a sister brand by Poundstretcher. |
Boyes | ![]() |
1881 | 74 | Family owned discount shops department store chain based in Scarborough. Stores throughout the North of England. | |
The Factory Shops | c.1980s | The Factory Shops Essex Ltd | 5 | Family run Essex-based discount shop[1] | |
Goodwins | c. 2010s | Yorkshire Trading Company | 4 | North East and Yorkshire based multi price discount retailer that originally started life as a pound shop | |
Home Bargains | ![]() |
1976 | TJ Morris | 539 | |
In-Excess UK | 4 | Discounter based in Hampshire and Dorset | |||
The Original Factory Shop | ![]() |
1969 | Duke Street Capital | 200- | [2] |
OneBeyond | ![]() |
2018 | Christopher Edwards Sr. | 54 | |
Poundland | ![]() |
1991 | Steinhoff | 450+ | Largest single price discounter in the UK |
Poundstretcher | 1981 | Fortress Investment Group | 400 | ||
Proper Job | 1997 | Tilley Family | 10 | Father and son Ray and Peter Tilley started Tilley's Tools in Cornwall, before running it as a wholesale business from Weston Super Mare. Proper Job was started in 1997 is based in Somerset.[3][4] | |
Quality Save | 1974 | Richard Rudkin & Paul Rudkin | 21 | Business started as a market stall in Walkden, north-based discount chain | |
QD stores | ![]() |
QD Commercial Group Holdings | 25 | Discount group based mainly in East of England & the Home Counties | |
Savers Health & Beauty | ![]() |
1988 | A.S. Watson Group | 410 | Discount branded health, home and beauty. |
The Range | ![]() |
1989 | Chris Dawson | 148 | Discount home and hardware originally called CDS Superstores |
This Is It Famous Value Shops | 6 | Chain of discount shops located in Devon, Dorset and Somerset[5] | |||
Tiger | 2005 | Zebra A/S | 46 | Danish discount shop based primarily in the South East | |
Trade Counters | c.1990s | 2 | South Essex based home and hardware discount shop with at one time five shops | ||
Trago Mills | Early 1960s | 3 | South West based discount department stores | ||
Value House Shops | 3 | South West based Home & Garden discounter, owned by the Ford Family of Ford & Lock / Brian Ford Discount Superstore fame.[6] | |||
Yorkshire Trading Company | ![]() |
1964 | Nichols Family | 35 |
List of defunct discount shops
Discount shop |
Image | Founded / Came to UK |
Closed / Brand discontinued |
Owned by | Number of shops |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
99p Stores | 2001 | 2016 | Lalani family | 259 | 99p Stores purchased by Poundland in 2015 rebranded as Poundland | |
Alworths | ![]() |
2009 | 2011 | 18 | Rebranded from Woolworths, entered administration in 2011 | |
Bargain Crazy | ||||||
Barmy Bobs | Trading name of Yorkshire Trading Company that was phased out | |||||
Basildon Stores | 2012 | 5 | Discount home, garden and hardware chain based in South Essex, closed due to retirement | |||
Bewise | 2006 | Hamsard 2353 | 200 | Discount homeware and clothing retailer, went into administration 2006, some shops were purchased by new chain Store Twenty One[7] | ||
The Big Label | 2009 | 5 | Formerly QS Discount, owned by QS Stores; owned five shops in Blackburn, Sale, Atherton, Warrington and Chorley | |||
CDS Superstores | 1989 | Chris Dawson | Discount chain rebranded as The Range | |||
DiscountUK | 2011 | 2013 | Chris Edwards and Chris Edwards Junior | 41 | Re-branded as Bargain Buys | |
Family Bargains | 2010 | 2016 | Poundland | A sister brand of the 99p shop, which was rebranded as Poundland Plus after 99p Stores' purchase. | ||
Glyn Webb | 2006 | 22 | Former discount DIY chain[8] | |||
Grandfare | 1967 | Early discount store in Shiprow, Aberdeen, which became What Everyone Wants.[9] | ||||
HEMA | ![]() |
2014 | 2021 | Lion Capital LLP | 9 | London-centric Dutch discount shop that started in Amsterdam in 1926[10] |
House of Holland | c.1980s | South of England-based discount department store went into administration late 80s[11] | ||||
Hypervalue | 1980 | 2009 | Hilco | Discount chain mainly located in South Wales, but had shops as afar as Southampton, bought by Hilco in 2006 before going into administration | ||
...instore | ![]() |
2002 | 2007 | instore plc | ...instore was a new corporate name that failed for £-stretcher business – name reverted to Poundstretcher | |
Max 99p | 2013 | 2018 | 4 | Family owned chain of discount shops located in Peterborough, Chelmsford, Pontypridd and Woolston. Went into liquidation in 2018.[12] | ||
JC Nicholls | Trading name operated by the Yorkshire Trading Company that was phased out. | |||||
One Up | 1993 | 16 | Clothing and Home discounter created by Storehouse plc, sold off in 1995 for £20m[13][14][15] | |||
Parker Franks | Owned by Philip Green | Northwest-based discounter of homewares and clothing; changed its name to Xception[14][16] | ||||
Poundworld | ![]() |
1974 | 2018 | TPG | >300 | Business started as market stall in Wakefield; branded Poundworld from 2004. Also traded as Poundworld Extra and Poundworld Plus |
QS Stores | 1932 | 2006 | Hamsard 2353 | 143 | QS started life as a clothing manufacturer. In 1960s they opened their first shop selling clothing rejected by main buyer Marks & Spencer. In 1980s the shop stopped selling seconds and went private in 1990. Was purchased by Hamsard 2353 in 2003 who brought it together with fellow purchase Bewise. Business went into administration in 2006. Some shops became part of Store Twenty One.[17] | |
Shop Direct Group | 10 | Discounter of surplus stock from within the Shop Direct family of companies | ||||
Store Twenty One | ![]() |
2007 | 2017 | Grabal Alok | 200 | Discount clothing and homewares, created from the ashes of QS Stores and Bewise |
Thing - Me - Bobs | 2022 | QD Commercial Group Holdings[18] | 11 | Stores purchased by QD in 2013. Moved to QD branding in 2022.[19] | ||
Waremart | 2009 | Chain of discounters based in Yorkshire and northeast in former Woolworths shops | ||||
What Everyone Wants | 1990 | 2003 | Tradegro | 130 | Formerly What Every Woman Wants, a Scottish chain of discount shops that became UK national in 1990 after its purchase by Brown & Jackson, owners of £-Stretcher. Sold to Tradegro in November 2002 before going into administration a month later. Locations were bought by Poundstretcher and Bewise | |
Woolworths | ![]() |
1909 | 2009 | Woolworths Group plc | 807 | Company went into administration, name lives on as a web-based retailer owned by Shop Direct Group |
Xception | Philip Green | New name for northwest-based Parker Franks, a discounter selling a variety of clothes and homewares[14][16] | ||||
Your Home Stores | Greater Manchester based discounter of homewares[16] | |||||
Your More Store | 1991 | 2004 | Tradegro | 199 | Set up Pepkor in 1991, the stores were based in Scotland and the North East of England. Bought by Brown & Jackson, owners of £-stretcher in 1997, before being sold to Tradegro in 2003 while in administration.[20] |
References
- ^ "About The Factory Shops". The Factory Shops. TheFactoryShops.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "The Original Factory Shop". The Factory Shop Ltd. TheOriginalFactoryShop.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "Somerset's Proper Job chain launches tenth store - DIY week p.7 April 2014". Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "Proper Job About Us". Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "This Is It Famous Value Shops". ThisIsItStores.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "End of an era as Brian Fords closes - North Devon Gazette p.25 Jun 2010". Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ "Clothing chains join retail casualty list - The Guardian p.11 February 2006". TheGuardian.com. 11 February 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ News, Manchester Evening (15 February 2007). "Redundancies as GlynWebb collapses". men. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
{{cite news}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ "50 year anniversary of cut-price retailer Grandfare's launch in Aberdeen". Evening Express. 18 October 2017.
- ^ "HEMA is coming to the UK". Style Arch. StyleArch.co.uk. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "House of Holland - Brighton". Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ "Max 99p - Companies House". Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ "Pleasant surprise in storehouse - The Independent p.26 May 1995". Independent.co.uk. 25 May 1995. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ a b c Lansley, Stewart (8 September 2008). Top Man:How Philip Green built his High Street Empire by Stewart Lansley. Aurum. ISBN 9781845138059. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "BHS move one up - Housewares p.September 1993 Issue 102". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ a b c "The Lost Precinct An A to Z of Defunct retailers". 18 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "Clothing chains join retail casualty list - The Guardian p.11 February 2006". TheGuardian.com. 11 February 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "QD Stores - Store Finder". QD Commercial Group Holdings. QDGroup.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "QD Stores confirm closure of March Broad Street shop". Cambs Times. 23 March 2023.
- ^ "Brown & Jackson - Your More Store". Retrieved 8 May 2015.