[6] Although the retailer made a pre-tax loss of £1.14 million in the year to 31 January 2007, they claimed that, since then, consumers had become more cautious with their money and where they spend it, in response to the economic conditions.

[7] The retailer had noticed an increase of customers from the wealthier AB social grade (a system of demographic classification used in the United Kingdom) during the recession.

[3] The company relocated their headquarters to a new, 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) base in Daventry in 2007, giving them capacity to go to 120 stores with existing infrastructure.

Brown, having previously served as managing director at Wilkinson between 1991 and 2007, joined the company at a time when it was embarking on aggressive expansion and assessing its long-term options.

[14] Nadir's son and buying director, Faisal, who took care of the day-to-day running, noted that the lowest margin he could work with was 20 percent.

[19] In response to the planned VAT rise to 20% in January 2011, the budget chain said it would not change its prices but would stop selling goods that did not make a profit.

[20] Towards the end of 2009, 99p Stores replaced their Torex electronic point of sale system with one provided by Futura to operate their touchscreen Intelligent Registers (IRs).

[25] As of 2006, the retailer was making a profit margin of 40% on the produce it sold, which included its most popular food lines at that time such as potatoes, onions and eggs.

[23] Stuart Donnelly, head of property at 99p Stores, noted that landlords were being much more proactive, inviting potential retailers to come and have a look at their locations with the hope of them taking up a lease, as the property market has been badly affected by the recession, allowing the company to drive competitive deals to further expand their portfolio of stores with less expenditure, something that wouldn't have been possible just a few years previously.

[27] New store openings had proved so popular that bosses had been requesting friendly police presence for crowd control purposes for desperate shoppers who queued from 5am to be the first to get hold of first-customer bargains.

[32] The retailer had noticed a lot more consumers from the AB social grade in their stores, and were expecting this trend to continue even after the economy recovered.

[35] In June 2009, a traditional sweet shop in Petersfield came under serious threat of closure following the opening of a 99p Store, with takings going down by as much as 60 percent a day.

"[36] In December 2009, Eastleigh news reported that a new discount shop had established itself next door to a 99p Stores outlet, but instead selling all its products for 89p, undercutting the retailer by 10p.

[12] In June 2005, the retailer received fines and costs totalling almost £4,400 after pleading guilty at Barnsley Magistrates' Court of supplying dangerous frying pans.

[41] The company again were fined on 17 October 2005, after pleading guilty at Kingston Magistrates' Court to selling hair removal cream, which had no instructions in English and caused burning to the consumers' skin when applied.

[42] The company were also fined £3,000 in February 2006, after staff in their Acton and West Ealing stores were caught selling adult-rated DVD films to a 15-year-old boy during a council sting operation.

She had been expected to work 70 hours a week while heavily pregnant, and had been promoted to a 'trainee manager' position, meaning she was not paid overtime.