Poundland: Store set to close months after taking over former Sheffield Hillsborough Wilkos site

A Sheffield Poundland store is to close down, just months after taking over from a former Wilko store in the city.

The bargains chain moved into Wilko on Bradfield Road, in Hillsborough, after the collapse of the Worksop based company last year.

It re-opened on October 14, employing eight former workers. The discount chain said at the time that the shop would sell its signature grocery, household and general merchandise ranges.

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But a large blue sign on the shop window has today has announced the store will close its doors later this months, little more than six month after Poundland moved into the building. The sign stated: “Poundland. Sorry. We’re closing 20th April. Visit our website for other nearby stores.”

In a statement to The Star, the company confirmed that the closure of the Bradfield Road shop was permanent, and that they had been unable to arrange a long term lease for the building.

Poundland said in their statement: “I’m afraid it’s correct that we’re closing that store later this month.  Sadly we’ve been unable to secure a long term lease that would enable us to keep trading. 

“We know that will be disappointing to customers and colleagues alike – we will, of course, do all we can, to look for other opportunities for colleagues.”

Poundland still has several stores in Sheffield, including one at Hillsborough Barracks.

After Wilkos, which had a major base near Worksop, closed its stores last year, Poundland took over a number of the chain’s stores across South Yorkshire and across the country, including the store on Bradfield Road

The other four Sheffield Wilkos were on Haymarket in the city centre, at Meadowhall, Crystal Peaks and St James Retail Park at Norton.

All Wilko stores - including the five in Sheffield - closed last October when the firm collapsed. It had 400 shops and employed 12,000.

Wilkos has subsequently gone on to re-open some of its former stores, most recently with the re-opening of its store at Parkgate in Rotherham, which re-opened earlier this month.

CDS Superstores snapped up the brand when the chain collapsed in October. The stores closed at the time included Parkgate. The new shop is in the same unit.