Brown & Jackson considers rebranding

The Poundstretcher chain of discount shops is likely to change its name later this year as the group's new management seeks to jettison its old downmarket image and make a fresh start.

Angus Monro, the chief executive of Brown & Jackson, which owns the 388-strong Poundstretcher chain, has appointed brand consultants to look at the way the existing name is perceived. The Brown & Jackson corporate name is likely to be changed too.

Mr Monro, who was previously chief executive of Matalan, said: "We are looking at a complete rebranding and repositioning. The old name has quite a lot of baggage associated with it."

He is looking to open more stores out of town, expand other shops and reposition others, and source more goods direct from suppliers. This process, modelled on the Matalan system, would enable Poundstretcher to charge low prices but make high margins.

B&J yesterday reported pre-tax profits of £1.5m for the year to December, after £10m of losses at chains such as What Everyone Wants and Your More Store which have been sold. The Poundstretcher chain made £11m profit on sales of £153m.