Friday 17 February 2012

Pound Shop Innovation - Moves to the Mainstream?

Given that Marks & Spencer started as a ‘pound shop’ (Penny Bazaar, 1894) and Woolworths followed as a ‘sixpenny store’, it is perhaps valuable to seek signs of innovative pound shop retailing as a pointer for the future, and perhaps move this emerging sector closer to our core trade strategies?   
Key pound shop moves include:
-       Pound shop launches door-to-door home deliveries for a pound a trip
-       Mobile Pound shop sets up stall at local events, offering to recycle ‘your old £10 + £20 notes for something you can use’! Also have a flourishing online pound site 
-       Pound shop van travelling to outlying villages (see pic above)
-       Around A Pound (Newry, N.I.) have a pound shop on eBay and sponsor motorcycle racing
-       East Hull Community transport offering transport at £1 a trip   
-       Amazon offering Super Saver Delivery Filler Items (around a pound)   
Time for someone to ignore the numbers, try a BOGOF and really stop the whole process in its tracks?
For a detailed treatment of the rise of pound shops see Kamcity Library   
Incidentally, we found a number of independent pound shops branding themselves as ‘Around A Pound’. Branding experts will foresee some issues here in that the label will either become generic, or may lead to possible passing-off charges being levelled at rivals.
In which case, this may cause some enterprising legal firms to combat ‘Tesco law’ by offering cut-price legal advice at a pound-a-pop?
Have a legal pig-flying weekend, from the NamNews Team!

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