Poundland has posted annual sales exceeding the £1billion mark for the first time in yet another sign of the discount stores ' sustained challenge to established supermarket retailers . The company , which began as a single shop in Burton-on-Trent 25 years ago , has become Europe 's largest single-price discount retailer . The firm revealed yesterday total revenue over the 12-month period - excluding its Spain interests - grew 11.8 per cent to just over £1.1 billion , breaking through the £1bn barrier for the first time and matching more established retailers such as WH Smith . Poundland has become Europe 's largest single-price discount retailer , with a trial expansion into Spain currently underway . Profits are expected to be around £44million as the firm reaps the rewards from its 547 UK stores and 41 shops in Ireland . With recession-era shopping habits entrenched , discount retailers are taking sales from Britain 's 'big four ' supermarkets - transforming the British High Street . 'Discounters have always been part of the retail scene , catering for people who did n't have a lot of money , ' retail analyst Clive Black told The Guardian . 'What happened was that in 2011 the UK became a country that did n't have a lot of money and bargain hunting became a national pastime and not just the preserve of people on low incomes . ' Steve Smith ( pictured ) founded Poundland in 1990 then sold it for £50 million a decade later . Poundland said it had opened 60 net new stores in the UK and Ireland and had a strong pipeline of openings for the new year . On the back of yesterday 's figures , Poundland 's chief executive Jim McCarthy said : 'After a solid quarter of sales growth , Poundland 's revenue for the 2015 financial year was over £1billion for the first time . 'Despite tough trading conditions , Poundland continues to perform well and we served an average of 5.3 million shoppers a week during the quarter . 'We managed our costs and cash well , and we expect underlying pre-tax profits to be in line with market expectations for the year as a whole . ' Originally founded by entrepreneur Steve Smith in 1990 , the company snowballed from a small private enterprise into a High Street revolution , which involved buying up unwanted stock and end-of-lines , then swiftly getting them into the shops to sell cheaply . This strategy has since been adopted by bargain chains such as Aldi and Lidl , all of which have eaten into a market once dominated by the supermarket chains such as Waitrose , Tesco and Sainsbury 's . Back then , shoppers were beginning to desert the High Street for superstores , but Mr Smith and his Poundland chain - which he sold in 2000 for £50million - were a lifeline that helped keep it afloat . Steve Smith grew up helping his father run a stall at Bilston market in the West Midlands , before opening his first Poundland store in 1990 at the age of 18 . He has previously said his inspiration was his hardworking father , who ditched his job to become a trader when he realised it brought in more money . And it was at his father 's market stall he discovered the basics of business . Most significantly , he realised the box contain cut-price items that had lost their packaging was particularly popular . The box formed the inspiration for Poundland , and a few years later , he convinced a shopping centre in Burton-on-Trent to open a store , where he sold £13,000 of stock on the first day . By the time he sold his share of the company for £50million in 2000 , the business had a million customers a week and employed 6,000 people .
The discount chain annual posted yesterday sales exceeding £1 billion . It has now become Europe 's largest single-price discount retailer . Poundland benefited from austerity seen in the wake of the financial crisis . It also transformed High Streets , luring customers away from superstores .