// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
How Poundland grew from a market stall to a high street giant
Poundland has been a recognisable presence on high streets for more than 35 years
"When I told people what I wanted to do, open shops on the high street selling things for one pound, they said, 'how will you find products to sell for a pound, what about inflation, it will never work.'"
That is how Steve Smith, the founder of Poundland, describes the genesis of the budget giant - which went on to employ thousands of people and see over a million customers a week - on his own website, external.
But now the West Midlands-based retailer is teetering on the edge, after its US-based owners Gordon Brothers cut off a vital funding supply and rejected a takeover offer from Irish firm Martin Property Group.
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Having spent time on his parents stall since the age of two Wolverhampton-born businessman Smith started out in the very same place - selling items for £1 from his own stall.
After a £50,000 loan from his parents he opened the first Poundland shop, in The Octagon Shopping Centre in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, on 13 December 1990.
That first day, with a range of 624 products, the store took more than £13,000 - "and Poundland was born," Smith said.