Wilko's goes into Administration

[dorsetdesiro]

I do remember that large Wilkos in front of Blackpool North station, it was obvious a supermarket previously occupied the site due to the interior layout (like Carmarthen's ex-Tesco) and the multi-storey car park above - anyone know which supermarket this was before Wilkos took over?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I do remember that large Wilkos in front of Blackpool North station, it was obvious a supermarket previously occupied the site due to the interior layout (like Carmarthen's ex-Tesco) and the multi-storey car park above - anyone know which supermarket this was before Wilkos took over?

Did Wilko ever actually move into the (new?) unit that was being built at the Houndshill Centre? (Blackpool).

 

[dgl]

Talking about Wilko's in old supermarkets, the one in Yeovil is in the old Tesco building and ours in Weymouth used to be a Co-Op living store.

 

[jfollows]

“The Range” is planning to buy the brand, the name and Web site, for £5m.

 

[ainsworth74]

“The Range” is planning to buy the brand, the name and Web site, for £5m.

Presumably on a similar basis to Debenhams and becoming an online only operation.

 

[stuartl]

Did Wilko ever actually move into the (new?) unit that was being built at the Houndshill Centre? (Blackpool).

No, I don't think it's quite finished yet anyway.

 

[WizCastro197]

Surprisingly, my local (Canterbury) is still going AFAIK, unlikely to become a pound land as it is a 2 minute walk away.

Seemingly hasn't stopped them in Redhill, where there is on just up the road about a minute away. I assume current Poundland in Redhill will shut and become empty.

 

[Mojo]

Presumably on a similar basis to Debenhams and becoming an online only operation.

The Range currently sell a number of things with "brands" such as myGarden and myD.I.Y, none of which are very strong. I would have assumed that they would perhaps be using the Wilko brand instead.

I am wondering if this deal would extend to selling the same products as Wilkinsons, which are manufactured by third parties, but sold in Wilkinsons and branded as Wilko. Some of these products you can't get anywhere else, certainly not for the prices they are sold in Wilkinsons!

 

[JD2168]

I do remember that large Wilkos in front of Blackpool North station, it was obvious a supermarket previously occupied the site due to the interior layout (like Carmarthen's ex-Tesco) and the multi-storey car park above - anyone know which supermarket this was before Wilkos took over?

I’m not sure which it was but Blackpool until it closed was the biggest Wilko’s in the country, the current biggest I believe is Sheffield Haymarket store in the City Centre.

 

[DannyMich2018]

The Wilko in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire used to be a Safeway store many years ago but had to be sold so become Wilko, just opposite the former Kwik Save became B and M, it's therefore a decent size and comes with its own car park.
Did Wilko ever replace the store in the now long demolished Broadmarsh Shopping Centre in Nottingham?

 

[Peter Sarf]

It occurs to me that there could be two further reasons for Poundland snapping up stores near their existing stores. And of course the same for B&M. It could be to stifle any competition or, more likely, as bargaining power if the two sites have different landlords.

 

[Benters]

With the Wilko brand name being acquired by The Range, don't be surprised if Wilko-branded is one of the first things to appear in their stores.
Wilko paint was good quality (having used it on occasion myself) and it's reputation would be a good fit for The Range , which currently doesn't sell any own-label paint.

 

[Peter Sarf]

With the Wilko brand name being acquired by The Range, don't be surprised if Wilko-branded is one of the first things to appear in their stores.
Wilko paint was good quality (having used it on occasion myself) and it's reputation would be a good fit for The Range , which currently doesn't sell any own-label paint.

Yes. I certainly think what the Range is buying/committing-to is the most constructive part of what is happening to Wilkos. There is a "The Range" near Croydon (out of town) that in my eyes has just gained some attractiveness.

 

[Benters]

Yes. I certainly think what the Range is buying/committing-to is the most constructive part of what is happening to Wilkos. There is a "The Range" near Croydon (out of town) that in my eyes has just gained some attractiveness.

What I meant to say in the original post was 'Wilko-branded paint'. I also have the advantage of the nearest branch of The Range being five minutes walk from my house. I shall be using it a lot more mow Wilko in Stafford town centre has shut ( it will re-open as a Poundland sometime in the future, being one of the 71 stores acquired by them).

 

[Mojo]

With the Wilko brand name being acquired by The Range, don't be surprised if Wilko-branded is one of the first things to appear in their stores.
Wilko paint was good quality (having used it on occasion myself) and it's reputation would be a good fit for The Range , which currently doesn't sell any own-label paint.

I hope they will be selling the same products as Wilko, but was this actually included in the deal, or is it just the branding?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I hope they will be selling the same products as Wilko, but was this actually included in the deal, or is it just the branding?

The announcement reads like it's just the brand name; I suspect the bulk of the payment for it has gone towards what accountants call "goodwill".

 

[Thirteen]

I saw articles a few weeks ago that anyone who worked at Wilko and now losing their jobs would be get guaranteed interviews at the likes of Dunelm, The Works, Hobbycraft and Aldi which I assume is just a goodwill gesture by those companies.

 

[Dai Corner]

I hope they will be selling the same products as Wilko, but was this actually included in the deal, or is it just the branding?

The announcement reads like it's just the brand name; I suspect the bulk of the payment for it has gone towards what accountants call "goodwill".

I expect the suppliers hope The Range will continue to sell their products too, though there's probably no obligation to.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I’m not sure which it was but Blackpool until it closed was the biggest Wilko’s in the country...

Demolition of the monolithic old Wilko store on Talbot Road in Blackpool was started in mid September 2020.

 

[ChrisC]

The Wilko in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire used to be a Safeway store many years ago but had to be sold so become Wilko, just opposite the former Kwik Save became B and M, it's therefore a decent size and comes with its own car park.
Did Wilko ever replace the store in the now long demolished Broadmarsh Shopping Centre in Nottingham?

The ex Safeway store that Wilko are in in Hucknall is a far superior building to the old Kwik Save store currently occupied by B&M. Both overlook the same large car park but the Wilko store has far better access to the High Street and car park. It is also a larger more modern looking store with windows. I wonder if B&M may move across the car park to the more superior building.

In nearby Arnold, Wilko occupy a large store which was formally Sainsbury's. This is well situated on the High Street with a large car park on the roof with lifts down to the store. Lots of the Wilko shops in Nottinghamshire towns such as Mansfield, Newark, Bulwell and Sutton in Ashfield are in quite large fairly modern buildings in high street locations with car parks close by. If left empty these will leave a huge gap in the high streets of these towns.

 

[SteveM70]

I hope they will be selling the same products as Wilko, but was this actually included in the deal, or is it just the branding?

The announcement reads like it's just the brand name; I suspect the bulk of the payment for it has gone towards what accountants call "goodwill".

I expect the suppliers hope The Range will continue to sell their products too, though there's probably no obligation to.

Exactly that. It’ll come down to what the Range decide they want their, er, range to be, and then the outcome of negotiations with potential suppliers. Just because supplier A made the Wilko branded paint doesn’t mean they’ll make any Range Wilko brand paint

 

[Mojo]

I wonder if there's a lot of Wilko branded produce sitting in storage somewhere? Normally this time of the year the shop is full of spring flowering bulbs which haven't appeared in any of the 5 or so shops I've been into since they went into Administration.

 

[SteveM70]

I wonder if there's a lot of Wilko branded produce sitting in storage somewhere? Normally this time of the year the shop is full of spring flowering bulbs which haven't appeared in any of the 5 or so shops I've been into since they went into Administration.

I’d be very surprised if there was loads across the board, as they were cash poor at the end and had a lot of supply problems, but doubtless like all retailers they’ll be sitting on some seasonal stock where they forecast sales badly and over-bought (or under-sold, because the weather hasn’t been great)

 

[dorsetdesiro]

Just found out the old Blackpool Wilko was a large branch of "Fine Fare" that became Gateway then Somerfield.

The larger FF stores were sold off to Asda in the 1980s leaving Gateway to focus on smaller sites (that later became Somerfield and now Co-op). I am thinking the Blackpool branch probably failed to make the list, rejected by Asda and then was sold to Wilko not long after.

I wonder if there's a lot of Wilko branded produce sitting in storage somewhere? Normally this time of the year the shop is full of spring flowering bulbs which haven't appeared in any of the 5 or so shops I've been into since they went into Administration.

The surplus ex-Wilko stock may get flogged off by other discount retailers, I have seen Sainsburys car products sold in an independent pound shop, the Sainsburys logo was blacked out with a marker pen at the front but the Sainsburys head office address was visible at the back!

 

[Mojo]

I’d be very surprised if there was loads across the board, as they were cash poor at the end and had a lot of supply problems, but doubtless like all retailers they’ll be sitting on some seasonal stock where they forecast sales badly and over-bought (or under-sold, because the weather hasn’t been great)

The point I was making is that their spring flowering bulbs would have already been produced and packaged before the company went into administration; but they don't usually appear in shops until end of August. I was wondering if the suppliers ever delivered the products to Wilkinsons or if they were either re-packaged for sale elsewhere, or if they might appear in a discount shop. I could easily spend £100 every autumn on the bulbs in Wilkinsons so if they're likely to be found elsewhere..!

 

[317 forever]

That branch was adjacent to the now-defunct Rackhams House of Fraser department store, which was a store that well reflected Altrincham, but thankfully the Marks and Spencer store is still going strong, unlike Stockport that lost both its Debenhams and Marks and Spencer department stores and now losing its Wilko store.

At least Wilmslow still has its iconic Hoopers department store in the centre of the town last time I was there.

The Stockport site is being taken over by Poundland. Admittedly they took over the site of the BHS store then opened and later closed a Poundland there. Their new site is in a row of shops just outside the town centre.

 

[GCH100]

Presumably on a similar basis to Debenhams and becoming an online only operation.

Not strictly true with Debenhams as believe it or not the owners of the online Debenhams have opened a cosmetic shop in Manchester Arndale Centre branded as Debenhams, I presume this is unique and the only one.

 

[ainsworth74]

Not strictly true with Debenhams as believe it or not the owners of the online Debenhams have opened a cosmetic shop in Manchester Arndale Centre branded as Debenhams, I presume this is unique and the only one.

I feel like I can't be blamed for missing one store in one shopping centre that sells cosmetics under the Debenhams brand

 

[GCH100]

I feel like I can't be blamed for missing one store in one shopping centre that sells cosmetics under the Debenhams brand

No, True, its just rather obscure, that's why I mentioned it

 

[syorksdeano]

I believe that some of the poundland ones are actually a subsidiary or Poundland called Pepco who are their clothing line