Who are Steven and Tracy Smith? Poundland founders featured on How’d You Get So Rich?
THE founders of Poundland started out from humble beginnings before their business boomed into a high street chain, which an astonishing 85% of the country has shopped in.
Steven Smith and his wife Tracey have shared the inspirational story of how they made their millions in a new Channel 4 reality series called How'd You Get So Rich?
Who is Poundland founder Steven Smith and wife Tracy?
Steven Smith was born in 1962 into a poor family in the West Midlands.
He lived in a house with his mum and dad and his paternal grandparents until his parents could eventually afford a flat of their own.
He recalled painting the patterns in the threadbare carpet with his mum as a child and sharing a portion of chicken and chips between them.
His parents ran a market stall in Bilston, West Midlands and it was while helping run the stall that he got his idea for Poundland.
He met future wife Tracy while studying business at Wednesbury College in his teen years.
How did the Smiths get so rich?
Steven noticed that his parents often made more money from the items in the 10p - £1 box than from the takings from everything else on the stall.
He set up his first shop at the age of 18, called Steves Discount Market.
Meanwhile his dad was running his own cash and carry Hootys, which he had always said would be his one day, but then one day he decided to sell the business and move to Mallorca.
Steven and Tracy packed up their belongings and went to Mallorca with his family, but broke the news that they were going to stay in England.
With a loan from his dad Steven found an office in Sedgley and opened the first Poundland in the Octagon shopping centre in Burton Upon Trent in December 1990.
They stocked 624 products and took £13,000 in the first day.
By the end of the first year they had turned over £1million and made a profit of £6,000, and already opened more shops.
Steven grew the business while Tracy was in charge of HR and payroll.
The pair have three children together.
How much did the Smiths sell Poundland for?
The Smiths decided to sell their successful chain in 2002 for £50 million.
At the time they were employing 5,500 people and a turnover of £200 million and an annual profit of £4.3 million.
The first thing Steven did when he sold the business was give half of the money to his parents.
He then bought a £6.5 million mansion in Shropshire and some property abroad.
Steven had 12 months off before returning to work and now invests in various businesses and holds a hefty property portfolio.
Tracy continues to play a key role in the family businesses and organises their busy household.
What do the Smith children do?
The couple have three children Katie, Ashley and Joe, who all have full or part time jobs in the family businesses.
Katie started working for her uncle 10 years ago before taking on the accounts for the Smiths.
Ashley Smith, the couple's eldest son, started convincing his father to take him to meetings when he was just 10.
Just over a decade later he founded Poundshop.com - a successful online retail business similar to his parents.
Joe Smith is their youngest child and aged just 17 is still studying at college.
He's interested in technology and has spent much of his spare time helping out with the different family businesses.
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