The discount fashion retailer Pep&Co has opened its first high street store ahead of a wider UK launch that will see a planned 50 more branches in 50 days.
Andy Bond, the former Asda chief executive who has established the chain, said the "challenger brand" aimed to replicate in fashion the success of discounters such as Aldi and Poundland.
The store in Kettering, Northamptonshire opened its doors today to low-priced fashion for women and children and back-to-school offers in a market currently dominated by retail giants such as H&M and Primark.
Items in the school uniform range include £1 polo shirts, £2 sweatshirts and £3 trousers, while skirts do not differ in price regardless of age and size.
From July 13, 50 stores are planned to open in 50 days, beginning with Cwmbran, Torfaen in what the retailer claims is the fastest "scale-from-scratch" retail launch ever attempted in the UK.
In Scotland it plans to launch in Dunfermline, East Kilbride, Falkirk, Kirkcaldy, Irvine, Paisley and Newton Mearns.
Mr Bond said the stores would offer simple discount-style pricing in an attempt to capitalise on a permanent shift in consumer behaviour towards shopping at price-led retailers and in smaller stores on high street locations.
It comes 25 years after the first Aldi and Poundland stores opened in the UK.
Managing director Adrian Mountford, a former managing director of Sainsbury's Tu clothing brand, said: "Pep&Co has been designed for the way mums shop today.
"She wants to spend a little, but get a lot, in a store close to home.
"We believe Pep&Co can grow to become one of Britain's favourite stores and as it does, provide a significant boost to high streets across the UK."
Mr Bond said: "Pep&Co has the backing of a strong retail group, management with a significant UK retail pedigree and an intimate understanding of what value shoppers want.
"We're excited to be the first family fashion store to tap into the demand we can already see elsewhere in retail, for tremendous value in highly convenient locations."
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