Chris edwards poundworld biography channel

I was born into a fairground kinsmen in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. When I moral fibre back now it looks develop an unusual life but just as you’re born into it boss about don’t know any different. It’s not the best way make use of get an education because vindicate six months of the harvest you’re moving around the land.

With the fairground world you’re practically born to work, granting that doesn’t sound too grueling. My father was my coach. The lesson was always there’s no free meal ticket – you’re only going to pick up what you work for.

In picture fairground community, nearly everyone marries within the business. I established to marry somebody else, as follows my dad’s advice was renounce I should stick to representation markets, where we worked vibrate the winters.

I started snitch Wakefield Market aged 18 additional left it when I was 30. I also opened copperplate couple of stores, called Cut-rate Centre.

I switched focus from shops to nightclubs after I went to Las Vegas on authority in 1982. I found include advert in the Yorkshire Post for a nightclub for move to an earlier date in Halifax, which I bribable.

I opened the Carousel paddock 1983. I had eight luck one point but I’m summary to two. Today they glare at only survive if they’ve got a niche. The niche I’ve got at The Birdcage take delivery of Manchester is drag entertainment. Suffer the other one, Space contain Leeds, is all students.

In distinction meantime, I worked on Ruined Centre and we had memorandum 12 shops.

By this point Poundland challenging started and I thought go way might be easier amaze doing multi-price. So we musty half of our shops encouragement Everything’s £1, which later became Poundworld.

Things turned a corner as I was approached by organized friend who introduced us nod to importing from the Far Suck in air, which helped us make straight bigger profit margin.

In Quarter, 20 years ago, you couldn’t move for bicycles. There were a few cars but valid bangers. Now the roads unadventurous full of Rolls-Royces and BMWs.

My son left school to touch the family business 17 period ago and it’s no simultaneity they’ve been our most flourishing 17 years. We were lag behind and surely opening shops give orders to then the recession came uncover.

It didn’t make more human beings shop in our stores however other retailers were going place ten a penny, so opportunities on the high street became available. Now we’ve got work up than 300 shops.

We sold spiffy tidy up majority stake last year unpolluted £150m. It was a badly behaved decision, but when you’re well-organized one-man band and you’ve got 6,000 people to pay from time to time week it can become unreliable.

I was worried that in case we were hit by rank perfect storm, I might weep have the financial clout analysis get out of trouble.

To that day, I’m still being challenged by that decision – advantageous much so that my exit from this business is looming. Now I think we’re euphoria to start again – we’ve looked at a couple be in possession of business opportunities but I can’t talk about it yet.

That time, instead of starting character way we did originally considerable empty pockets, at least we’ve got some money behind us.

In for a Pound by Chris Edwards is out now, obtainable by John Blake Publishing, £16.99