'The angel wings are very popular. In fact, they're flying off the shelves'

The Poundland chain has seen turn-over go up 22% and profits rise by 27%. It expects to add 70 new stores each year to its portfolio of 410 and is aiming to pull in more and more middle class shoppers.

Stephen Haworth, who is in charge of the company's 49 Scottish stores, says: "Poundland has become a household name. You hear it in radio phone-ins, comedy shows, even in the debate on Scottish independence." The summer panto about to open at the Oran Mor lunchtime theatre venue in Glasgow is called Alice in Poundland.

The Poundland mantra is "amazing value every day". Shoppers confronted by the "Wow Wall" – a bank of severely discounted major brand products – often fail to grasp the basic concept. Haworth says: "Despite our name, the most common question we get asked is, 'How much is this?' People can't believe it's just £1."

Poundland sells nearly 50 million KitKats a year which is something of a two-fingered salute to other outlets where the chocolate biscuits cost at least 50% more. Others among the 1000 branded items on sale are routinely one-half or one-third of standard high-street prices.

With a vast array of sweets, biscuits, crisps and what us Scots call ginger, Poundland is a serious supplier of the sugar habit. Paradoxically, it is also the UK's biggest retailer of Weight Watchers products.

And on the shelves you will also find – at only £1 obviously – the Body Composition Monitor, a smart device which calculates body mass index and fat percentage.

Many of the 3000 items to be found in Poundland come into the quirky category, as befits a company whose charter promises "always to be fun and friendly with something for everyone". You may not realise, for instance, that what was missing from your life is a solar-powered light in the shape of a meerkat. Or a bottle of Guinness-flavoured HP sauce.

Actor Dave Anderson visited Poundland in Partick, Glasgow to do research for the Oran Mor panto. He ended up with some new garden paving stones that light up at night. As he says: "How could ye no?"

Gerry Burke from Strachur was in the Partick store stocking up on essentials such as sugar and milk. He was also buying yet another plastic frog for his garden. Not just any frog. He explains: "This frog has a motion sensor. I put it in my vegetable patch. A cat comes along, planning to scratch about and dig up my plants. This sets off the frog which starts to croak and the cat runs away. Loads of gardeners on the west coast are switched on to these frogs."

Heather Hallford from Maryhill, also in Glasgow, is filling her trolley with household essentials such as toilet rolls and washing-up liquid. Her partner, Thomas has bought an HDMI cable for the computer. She says: "It's not too much of a hassle when the kids ask for a wee treat and it's only £1."

Her boys, Conor and Kyle, are kitted out with pirate pistols. There is a set of pink angel wings in the dressing-up section that will look lovely on daughter, Leah. Haworth says: "The angel wings are very popular. In fact, they're flying off the shelves."

At times in Poundland there is a definite feeling of I Can't Believe It's Not Woolworths. Katrine Codona of Whiteinch, Glasgow says: "I still miss Woolworths. I come to Poundland in search of things I used to get there. I came in today for wrapping paper but I've also bought a lumbar seat support for my bad back. It's exactly the same brand that I have seen on sale at £6 in other shops. Poundland is a clean and tidy store with friendly service and I usually pop in when I'm passing."

Haworth echoes the Woolworths sentiment: "No-one wanted to see the demise of Woolies. We have taken over many of their locations, including the iconic site in Glasgow's Argyle Street. As a general merchandising store with a wide range of products, Poundland is similar in many ways with the added attraction that everything is a pound."

Poundland is gathering its own folklore. There is the tale of a woman who bought skin cream for £1. Her friend, who is something of a designer label snob, tried the cream, was impressed, and asked where she could buy it. Knowing the snobbish shopper would not use a product from Poundland, the woman said she could get her some on the internet. And, to keep up the pretence, said the cream was £10 a jar.

Haworth says Poundland has long left behind the image of pound shops where cheap could also mean shoddy. "We can sell at £1 because of our bulk-buying power. Everything is tested for quality and is fit for purpose. At one time we considered having plain plastic bags because of the snobbery factor. Now, I think customers carry the Poundland bag with pride. They are saying, 'I only paid £1. What did you pay?'."

One of the comments from consumer experts when Poundland announced its company success last week was: "Cut-price cool means no-one is too posh for Poundland." Which may not be the case for the two-pairs-for-a-pound Homer Simpson socks with the motto: "You fry it, I'll eat it."