Strong Bradford links in pound shop king's rise to success

SERIAL retailer Chris Edwards regards Bradford as his second home.

The city has more than once played a crucial part in his business career which culminated in him selling a 75 per cent stake in his Poundworld empire for £150 million, making him, his family and the business financially secure.

The story of Poundworld is a classic climb from humble beginnings on a Wakefield market stall to stunning high street success and Chris has set it down in his book In For a Pound.

The themes running throughout his story are close family ties; undiminished drive, foresight and ambition - and a constant fear of being skint.

As Chris himself says in the book:" It's about how determination, hard work and a loving family can take a lad, with not much education but plenty of drive, from a stall on Wakefield market to a high street chain of more than 300 shops, while also establishing successful nightclubs."

Chris Edwards is a down-to-earth tycoon who enjoys the trappings of success but has maintained a strong work ethic throughout the various stages of his career.

He describes himself as a "real life Del Boy". His memoir has been co-authored by Stafford Hildred who penned the life story of Only Fools and Horses star Sir David Jason.

Chris comes from a fairground family - his great-great grandfather was once a trapeze artist - and spent his early years travelling to fairs across the north and living in a wagon (caravan).

But to make ends meet his late father went into buying and selling and started a market stall which gave Chris his first taste of retail. He was in his early 20s when he abandoned the fairgrounds for the market full-time.

After several years market trading and through contacts of his father securing the best pitch on Wakefield Market, Chris turned his ambition to running a shop as well.

With the backing of an understanding old-style bank manager Mr Shackleton, he found a shop for rent. As a compulsive saver Chris had amassed £8,000 in a tin box which paid for stock and he borrowed £3,000 to pay for a new shop front.

His first shops traded under the Bargain Centre name, then in 1995 came the first single price operation Everything's £1, followed by Poundworld .

Chris's younger brother Laurie joined him in the business - initially for a few weeks - but stayed for 40 years until he retired.

It was when Laurie came to Bradford to buy his wedding suit that he spotted an empty shop in Kirkgate, where the new indoor market and shopping centre were being developed in 1975. Undeterred by a flooded basement - which was eventually rented out to tenants - a second Bargain Centre was added.

Chris said: "With the backing of Mr Shackleton we opened the Bradford shop which was ten times bigger than the Wakefield one - and was really the start of what eventually became Poundworld.

"We had that shop for 23 years and when we sold it for around £1 million it provided a big boost to the Poundworld business. The present Poundworld branch is still in Kirkgate just two doors away from that original shop.

"The Bradford breakthrough came about because the city was slightly in disarray, thanks to the massive redevelopment that was just starting at the time. If my brother hadn't been making a rare trip to the city when he spotted the potential of a large empty shop there, then I'm sure someone else would have moved in."

After sorting out staff problems at the Bradford store early on, Chris decided to finish with the market stall and focus full-time on running the shops and added a third branch in Barnsley.

The retail operation continued successfully offering household goods at bargain prices and Chris's son Christopher Jr. started working in the business at the age of 15, and remains a director of Poundworld.

Chris had been stocking his stores using UK-based wholesalers and was making decent profits. At the same time - having seen and admired the success of Poundland- Chris changed three shops to Everything's £1 to operate on a single price basis.

The next key breakthrough for the business also had strong Bradford connections.

It was Chris's friend Simon Heginbotham - son of former Bradford City chairman the late Stafford Heginbotham - who had been helping Poundland with its importing, who suggested Poundworld, then with around 50 stores, should import its stock directly from China.

Through Simon, Chris and his son made their first visit to China in 1997 - a trip which opened their eyes to the potential. This was followed by a visit to a New York trade fair accompanied by Simon Heginbotham and his colleague Mark Ward, who later eventually joined Poundworld, becoming a director.

Chris says in the book: "I know how to make the pound game really work, you have got to be importing goods yourself. I took the first step on a journey to China that was to galvanise my whole business.

"Importing stock from China has helped to transform our business, yet my first impression of the country hardly encouraged me think it would alter our future so comprehensively. The China I visited in 1997 was quite different to today."

As well as becoming a retail tycoon, Chris Edwards has also been a successful nightclub entrepreneur, running the two businesses side-by-side.

Today, he retains two clubs in Leeds and Manchester but at one time had nine - including the Dollars venue (originally the Mecca) on Manningham Lane, Bradford, which he ran for six years.

He was encouraged to go into the business after a visit to Las Vegas and started with a club in Halifax, which he refurbished with a fairground theme.

He bought the old Mecca for £360,000 in 1984 after seeing its potential. Renaming it Dollars, Chris established the club as a leading venue attracting top radio DJs, TV soap stars and entertainers, including the Three Degrees and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

The book includes a range of colourful tales about the local nightclub scene at that time.

While Chris Jr has taken a business development role in Poundworld - including introducing its first electronic point of sale system - Chris Edwards has been the front man since those days as a market trader.

Last year he featured in the fly-on-the wall TV documentary Pound Shop Wars - which also made a star of his 80- year-old mother who has been a rock and support throughout his career.

After selling 75 per cent of Poundworld to American venture capitalists TPG for £150 million in May 2015, Chris says there was no champagne celebrations.

"It was more business as usual. The family still owns 25 per cent. For me, the money won't change anything . Some people might think it's daft, but in this business I've always had a philosophy where I treat a penny, £1, £100, £1,000 £100,000 or £1 million with the same respect. Our feet will be staying firmly on the ground."

Like many founders of small business that have succeeded and grown substantially, Chris Edwards is finding it difficult to make the transition from outright owner to employee.

After thinking on his feet all his working life, he is  finding the demands of corporate life with committees, reports and financial forecasts frustrating.

But he is satisfied that the sale was the right move to secure the long-term financial security of Poundworld.

In For A Pound by Chris Edwards is out now, published by John Blake Publishing in hardback and priced £16.99