Wilko Returns to the High Street

Beleaguered retail brand, Wilko, is poised for a surprise return to UK high streets after falling into administration in August this year. This comes after news that some of its stores have been bought by Poundland, who plan to reopen them under their own banner. The Range, meanwhile, had been a little quieter about their intentions with their own share of the beloved retailer.

The Range have outlined plans to open four new Wilko stores in Plymouth, Devon, and two other undisclosed locations before Christmas. Beyond that, it’s expected that they’ll be opening up several other branches next year across the UK, including some in Northern Ireland, which they’ve traded in before.

The reuse of former sites has also been mooted by the new owners, with a combination of these and brand-new sites making up the bulk of the revived brand’s high-street presence.

The remainder of that presence will be found within The Range’s own stores. The homeware retailer has revealed that special ‘Wilko bays’ have been set up in their stores from today to sell Wilko-branded goods. These bays are separated into different product sectors such as ‘Wilko Pets’ that house items such as cat food, and ‘Wilko decorating, holding essentials like paint and coat hooks.

The chief executive of The Range, Alex Simpkin had noted the public reaction to Wilko’s closure, and spotted its potential for regrowth. He said earlier today that “for the majority of its 93 years, Wilko was an incredibly successful business that gave its customers exactly what they needed to get their home and garden jobs sorted”.

Simpkin added that “the public reaction to the loss of Wilko stores was undeniable. It’s clear that there’s a huge love for Wilko and we’ve seen an encouraging demand for the return of its own-brand products. That’s why we’ve taken the decision to reintroduce Wilko back to many of the high streets and communities that it used to so proudly serve”.

Alongside this high street resurgence, Wilko’s online offerings have also returned, with their website now selling its own-brand products to the public.

The Range’s chief executive mentioned the strength of Wiko’s own-brand items as one of the factors that influenced the takeover. He explained that “it was their advanced own-brand capabilities that encouraged us to invest in the brand and wilko.com and we’re excited to now be selling Wilko products online once more and across our 200 stores network”.

The Range picked up a range of different assets from Wilko while the troubled business was under administration. Wilko’s branding, website, and IP was purchased by them for £5m only recently. Some of the original employees that lost their jobs a few weeks back will be involved in the opening of the new stores, that will feature terminals within each that allow customers to make home delivery orders.

Does your business need to bounce back?

Wilko’s financial challenges have not been isolated to them alone. If your business is struggling and finding the current economic landscape difficult, it’s a good idea to get in touch with us before the situation becomes unmanageable. We’ve helped countless companies to navigate difficult financial situations with our years of experience in business recovery.

If you need to get some advice on what you can do to get back on track our advisers are here for some free, no-obligation advice, just call us on 0800 975 0380 or email [email protected]