Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Poundland is set to completely remove kitchen knives from all of its 755 stores by the end of October – and has called on other high street retailers to follow suit.
The discount chain said: “This removal is part of our existing commitment to be the first high street retailer to stop selling kitchen knives in all locations across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.”
Poundland has already removed kitchen knives from its stores within London and the West Midlands region and is now ramping up its programme to remove the products from other stores.
Over the past four years, Poundland has made changes to ensure kitchen knives are only sold in sealed plastic packaging and in aisles monitored by CCTV. It has now decided to completely remove kitchen knives ‘following thoughtful reflection about concerns raised by both communities and colleagues’.
Poundland retail director Austin Cooke said: “The decision to stop selling kitchen knives nationwide is a commitment that we know means a lot to both our colleagues and our customers.
“For a long time they’ve expressed their concern around the associated risk of having knives available and the unfortunate truth is that in the wrong hands, knives can be used for the wrong purpose.
“The safety of our colleagues and customers is crucial and we hope our fellow retailers will follow our lead in playing a responsible role in preventing knife-related incidents.”
