Poudland has today announced it will be temporarily closing stores, including the Cardiff Queen Street branch.
While the vast majority of shops will remain open for business, 44 will be going into "temporary hibernation" following a drop in footfall in some shopping centres and high streets, Poundland has confirmed.
The budget retailer is replicating measures it took during the lockdowns of 2020 and says the temporary closures come following new Government announcements across the UK.
In the first 2020 lockdown, Poundland hibernated around 120 stores in March and was able to start reopening them from the end of May.
Despite the closures, Poundland has stressed in the majority of cases another store that remains open is located nearby for shoppers to pick up their essentials.
The retailer will place colleagues in temporarily closed stores on furlough "where appropriate".
Poundland's retail director, Austin Cooke, said: "We learned valuable lessons during the lockdown in March about how buying patterns change as people stick to government advice to stay at home.
"Putting a small number of stores into hibernation helps protect them for the long term and focus our attention on the majority of stores that remain open to serve their neighbourhoods.
"We hope this lockdown is short and we can re-open our hibernating stores as quickly as possible and we remain grateful for the vital support schemes available to us that help protect jobs."
List of Poundland store closures
Cardiff 121 Queen Street
Newark, St Marks Place
Londonderry Ferryquay Street NI
Grantham, Isaac Newton Centre,
Kingston upon Thames Eden Walk
Mansfield Four Seasons SC
Harlow Harvey SC
Lowestoft Britten SC
Colchester Culver Street
Ipswich Sailmakers SC
Ayr High Street
Norwich Castle Mall
Workington Campbell-Savours Way
Newmarket, The Guineas SC
Carlisle Scotch Street
Luton 31 The Mall SC
Dumfries, Loreburne SC
Belfast Castlecourt SC NI
Glasgow Union Street
Newry Buttercrane SC NI
Falkirk Howgate SC
Enniskillen Erneside SC NI
Edinburgh Princes Street
Newry Quays SC NI
Perth St Johns SC
Inverness High Street
Kirkcaldy Mercat SC
Bridgwater Angel Place SC
Cramlington Manor Walks SC
Burnley 82 Charter Walk SC
Middlesbrough Captain Cook Square SC
Preston Fishergate Centre
Durham Riverwalk SC
Rochdale Exchange SC
Beverley Flemingate SC
Chester Frodsham Street
Farnham The Borough
Bootle Strand SC
Fareham Market Quay
Solihull High Street
Fareham Whiteley SC
Newcastle under Lyme Castle Walk
Crewe Market St
Merry Hill SC
