Painting move for Poundland as it taps into home art craze

The West Midland-based company has launched a new range of painting supplies to satisfy the growing demand from budding Banksys and latent Lowrys in the wake of the pandemic.

It follows a sharp rise in demand for arts and craft items at the discount retailer's stores as customers have found refuge in new hobbies to get them through the last 18 months.

Painting’s popularity is on the rise as a way to relax and do something creative, while also helping mental health and well-being.

Poundland, which is based close to the M6 near Walsall, has a new adult art range that extends to nearly 100 items, including oil, watercolour and acrylic paints, oil pastels, brushes, pencils, palette, paper, stretched canvases and sketchbooks, as well as botanical and landscape painting sets, from leading artists materials brand Simply, by Daler-Rowney.

The chain has seen sales of adult craft items more than double over the past year.

Interest in the hobby has been fuelled by popular TV shows such as Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, Channel 4’s Grayson’s Art Club and BBC4’s The Joy of Painting.

There has also been a big rise in demand for colouring books for adults, which many people took up as a way to pass away the time and relax during lockdown.

Poundland’s trading director Tim Bettley joked: “Our customers asked if we could save them ‘Monet’ on their new love found love of art – and we said, ‘Yes we Kandinsky’ ."

He added: “Millions of people have found painting is a great way to chill and we’ve created our widest range of artists’ materials for those who want to take up the hobby or brush up their canvas technique.

“Who knows, the next Banksy or David Hockney might get their inspiration from visiting their local Poundland store.”

Poundland, which opened its first store in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, in 1990, now has more than 850 stores in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and employs around 18,000.