I was wrong about Poundland. Seeing it launch on the stock market at a value of over £750 million just underlines how wrong.

When Poundland first arrived in Winchester, I admit I was prejudiced against it. I’d seen shops that specialised in cheap goods before and I expected a policy of pile-em-high end-of-line, close-to sell-by-date overstocks, probably with the names in Spanish or Chinese. Everything about the idea of selling a the lowest prices went against my training and my experience in retailing which said no-one wins in a race to the lowest price.

I was so wrong and it’ll teach me to not be so snobbish. I soon discovered that the stock is neatly laid out in Poundland and very little on sale would come under the heading ‘cheap tat’. Mostly it stocks brand names and usually the products are a bit (occasionally a lot) cheaper than nearby Sainsbury’s.

Admittedly the operation is so huge and sophisticated these days that manufacturers are making packs special sizes to come in at £1.00. Still, one pound for 4 pints of milk or 10 Finish Dishwasher Tablets or 8 Time Out bars. It’s no wonder that it’s not only the people whose incomes have been hit by the economic collapse who are shopping there: the middle classes are going through the doors in high numbers. Twenty per cent of their customers are in the AB socioeconomic group, say Poundland. And why not, even the well off don't to throw their money away.

So Poundland with their 1000 shops have followed in the footsteps of mighty names from the past like Marks & Spencer which began in 1884 selling everything for a penny or Woolworths whose early UK shops priced everything at threepence or sixpence. It will be interesting to see whether Poundland dips as the economic recovers or whether price consciousness, thanks also to the internet, is here to stay.

Poundland is the other side of the coin, so to speak, to the pricey coffee shops and upmarket brands that are also moving into the high street. Along with Primark, Lidl and other low pricers, it has shown that the high street need not be a graveyard for retailers if you have the right offer.

If only they were selling shares across the counters of their stores, we could pick up another bargain.

This blog was written by Paul Lewis, owner of the marketing consultancy The Lewis Experience and online retailer Your Life Your Style, and former Head of Marketing and Operations at The Mayflower Theatre. You can connect with him on Google+ and LinkedIn.