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Pound Shop Wars

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Documentary series following the competition between Britain's pound shop chains.

Documentary series following the competition between the rival pound shop chains on Britain's high streets.

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Pound Shop Wars: Series 2

Kerry Brierley

Emeka Onono

Pound Shop Wars: Series 2: Episode 3: Forty New Shops

Forty New Shops

Episode 3

Episode 3: Forty New Shops

Series 2

BBC One - Pound Shop Wars, Series 2, Forty New Shops

The CEO of Poundworld, Chris Edwards, is back with ambitious plans for expansion.

The CEO of Poundworld, Chris Edwards, is back with ambitious plans for expansion while his 87-year-old mum Alice tries to keep up with the latest products and technology.

Poundworld's CEO Chris Edwards has an insatiable appetite for expansion. He aims to open 40 new shops in 12 months. More shops mean more stock, and crucially, somewhere to store millions of brand new one-pound items. In this episode, Chris gets the keys to a huge new warehouse perfect for the £4m-worth of extra stock he has already bought to fill his 40 new stores. If he fails to find the best retail sites and open the new shops, he will be left with a huge amount of unused stock on his hands. It is a gamble that could bring his business tumbling down. But opening just a single new store is a challenge. In this episode, Chris travels south and attends two openings in one day, but now he owns so many shops, he sometimes forgets which town he is in! 

The new jewel in Poundworld's crown is their brand new flagship store in Cardiff, situated in an upmarket shopping centre. Manager Duncan is worried that the builders will not have the store ready in time for their opening, and he has to test potential new shop floor staff in the city's existing store. The pressure is on to open the shop as soon as possible to start paying for the high rent of their luxury location. 

But when opening day arrives, so do the store's teething troubles - the till aisles are too narrow for customers, the router that allows card payments to work has not arrived and big boss Chris is on his way. The router finally turns up with minutes to spare, but when the store opens and customers get to the tills, the credit card machines are not working so customers end up walking away with bags of free shopping. Chris's swanky new store is turning into a disaster, so he is forced to step in to take control.  

Chris already has more than 230 stores across the country battling it out with rival chains. In Burnley, the competition is right next door and one penny cheaper. But no one can pile it high and flog it cheap quite like store manager Geoff and his assistant Ian. However, Geoff's eyesight is failing and he needs time off for a cataracts operation. It is a chance for his assistant Ian - the Grafter with Laughter - to step up into the top job.

While Geoff is away, Ian tries to do his job, Geoff's and everybody else's. The Grafter with Laughter does not give himself time to breathe while he is in the top job. When Geoff returns after his successful eye operation, he sees the store for the first time in high definition and finds the floor has not been cleaned properly. But sales were high while Ian was in charge and area manager Dave offers him the opportunity to run one of the 40 new shops Chris is opening. Will he choose the promotion or stick with his old friend Geoff?

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Pound Shop Wars

Series 2

Episode 3: Forty New Shops

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