Wilko's goes into Administration

[Baxenden Bank]

Looks like the Wilko website which was bought by The Range has relaunched today. It's £4.95 for delivery or free if you spend over £100. At the moment it's not that easy to use because it still seems to have the stock list of Wilkinsons on it, with many pages just a list of out of date products.

Most interestingly is the banner "Your favourite wilko products returning soon..." with pictures of some of Wilkinson's old products like paint and bird food. Which is actually quite promising given how well priced and good quality most of their stuff was. Whether it's the same as before remains to be seen.

A heads up:

BBC News article

Police warn South Yorkshire shoppers to avoid fake Wilko websites​

By Andrew Barton
BBC News

Shoppers have lost hundreds of pounds after being conned by a website pretending to be that of troubled retailer Wilko.
South Yorkshire Police said they had received 19 reports of people losing cash to a fake site.
The High Street chain collapsed into administration in August.
PC Angela Senior said: "Unfortunately, cyber scammers are often very good at making fake shopping websites look realistic."
PC Senior said the reports had been received in August and September with each victim losing up to £200 as a result.
"It's really important that people remain vigilant to the fact that these fake websites are out there and make the necessary checks before making any purchases," she added.
A force spokesperson said: "We know how tempting discounts and clearance sales can be, however, we encourage people to stop and query whether the deal is too good to be true before they make a purchase."
The spokesperson advised online shoppers to research retailers before purchasing.
All 400 Wilko stores across the UK were due to close by the end of October.
More than 12,000 staff had been made redundant as a result.

 

[dangie]

Our closed Wilko (Rugeley) is opening on Saturday as Poundland.

 

[Mojo]

Wilko social media confirms that The Range shops and website will commence stocking Wilko branded products “soon.” Looking forward to seeing if they’ll be working with the same suppliers (and keeping Wilko’s very competitive prices) or if it’ll be their existing products rebadged.

 

[JD2168]

Wilko social media confirms that The Range shops and website will commence stocking Wilko branded products “soon.” Looking forward to seeing if they’ll be working with the same suppliers (and keeping Wilko’s very competitive prices) or if it’ll be their existing products rebadged.

From talking to Range employees when finishing clearing out the Wilko I worked in they will be using the same suppliers with mainly Pet/Bird food & Paint being among the first products available.

 

[Mojo]

From talking to Range employees when finishing clearing out the Wilko I worked in they will be using the same suppliers with mainly Pet/Bird food & Paint being among the first products available.

The same suppliers as Wilkinson or The Range?

 

[JD2168]

The same suppliers as Wilkinson or The Range?

Same as Wilko I believe.

 

[Dai Corner]

Do we need a new thread 'Brands You Expect to Reappear Soon'?

Wilko shops set to return to the High Street before Christmas

The owner of The Range is planning to launch hundreds of Wilko shops after it bought the brand.

www.bbc.co.uk

Wilko will return to the High Street, with the brand's new owner opening up to five shops before Christmas.
The owner of the Range, which also bought Wilko's website after its collapse, will launch the first two Wilko shops in Plymouth and Exeter.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Do we need a new thread 'Brands You Expect to Reappear Soon'?

Wilko shops set to return to the High Street before Christmas

The owner of The Range is planning to launch hundreds of Wilko shops after it bought the brand.

www.bbc.co.uk

Fingers crossed. The Range do seem to have bought into the Wilko brand. Time will tell if it is just the brand or hopefully the products as well.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

My local branch of Wilko's was one of the 71 that have now re-opened as a "Poundland" store. Presume that nothing now being sold there will be old "Wilko" branded stock?

 

[CharlieSpotted]

I seem to remember Woolworths were selling the fixtures and fittings as well as the stock during their last few weeks.

Distinct memories of our Woolworths selling absolutely everything in the final days, not just fixtures and fittings, including the desk and chair from the manager's office, the microwave from the staff room, and a VCR/DVD player combi presumably from their CCTV system (or perhaps for training videos and suchlike). It was brutal!

 

[jon81uk]

My local branch of Wilko's was one of the 71 that have now re-opened as a "Poundland" store. Presume that nothing now being sold there will be old "Wilko" branded stock?

Its the owners of The Range that have bought Wilko. Nothing to do with Poundland.

You might see Wilko brand in The Range, but you won't see it in Poundland.

 

[ainsworth74]

Its the owners of The Range that have bought Wilko. Nothing to do with Poundland.

Yes Poundland acquired some of the physical stores to then re-open as Poundlands but have nothing to do with The Range who bought the Wilko intellectual property for lack of a better term.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Its the owners of The Range that have bought Wilko. Nothing to do with Poundland.

You might see Wilko brand in The Range, but you won't see it in Poundland.

Bit more visible than that - The Range have now decided to use the brand for their shops.

 

[jon81uk]

Bit more visible than that - The Range have now decided to use the brand for their shops.

Yes but in terms of the post I was responding to where they wanted to know if Wilko branded items would be found in Poundland, its not relevant that a Wilko branded store might re-open elsewhere in the city.

 

[Mojo]

l wonder if The Range are hoping they can sell their branded products to other bargain stores and make some money from the Wilko brand that way? B&M, Poundland, Home Bargains, Boyes, Sampoundstores, et al all seem to sell products under various names like Astonish, easy, and The Pink Stuff (the latter being an actual product but the branding now appearing on sprays and washing powder).

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Bit more visible than that - The Range have now decided to use the brand for their shops.

For the products of their shops, not for the shops themselves. That may seem like a pedantry but is relevant considering they could have chosen to retain the Wilko branding for their inherited stores, with things like current brand loyalty in mind - keeping current Wilko customers coming, etc. Similar to how Sainsbury's would have kept ASDA stores branded as such had their takeover been allowed.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

For the products of their shops, not for the shops themselves. That may seem like a pedantry but is relevant considering they could have chosen to retain the Wilko branding for their inherited stores, with things like current brand loyalty in mind - keeping current Wilko customers coming, etc. Similar to how Sainsbury's would have kept ASDA stores branded as such had their takeover been allowed.

That was the original plan - just branded products - but they're now planning on branding the actual stores thus.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

That was the original plan - just branded products - but they're now planning on branding the actual stores thus.

So Wilko stores will make a return? How marvellous. Thanks for this update Peter

 

[londonteacher]

Fingers crossed. The Range do seem to have bought into the Wilko brand. Time will tell if it is just the brand or hopefully the products as well.

It is the brand and products. Some products are already in stock in my local range from the pet and DIY range.

 

[Peter Sarf]

It is the brand and products. Some products are already in stock in my local range from the pet and DIY range.

That will be good as I might be able to get refills for things I bought from Wilko in Cardiff.

 

[dorsetdesiro]

That is great news about the Range reopening Wilko stores, but I don't wish to be all Derek Downer on this - but many ex-Wilko stores have been taken on by rivals, the High Street's future looking precarious - otherwise Wilko themselves wouldn't have closed down.

I think the Range is better off having Wilko concessions inside their big box stores as they have with Iceland. They could have smaller format stores in retail parks branded as Wilko also selling the Range products. The current small format Range stores could be converted to Wilko, with the Range for larger big box stores - that might work or could be too confusing.

Littlewoods (now Very I think) did buy Woolworths to relaunch online but this did not last.

 

[Russel]

That is great news about the Range reopening Wilko stores, but I don't wish to be all Derek Downer on this - but many ex-Wilko stores have been taken on by rivals, the High Street's future looking precarious - otherwise Wilko themselves wouldn't have closed down.

This is something of a concern, Wilko's high street stores were rather large generally, my local branch in Lichfield is meant to be reopening as a Poundland within the next two weeks, but so far nothing has changed, it's still fitted out and branded as a Wilko and there's no sign of anything happening.

A few miles down the road, Tamworth had two branches, one large high street branch that I can't see being filled any time soon and a branch at a retail park that probably won't take long to find a tenant.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Let's hope that former Wilko staff will get priority for jobs

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Let's hope that former Wilko staff will get priority for jobs

They stated that would be the case.

 

[Mojo]

From The Range’s social media page it looks as if a significant amount of Wilkinsons branded products are now for sale in The Range shops. Excellent news.

The Range on Instagram: " We have some exciting news to share... After numerous requests we can FINALLY confirm that original @lovewilko favourites are now available in ALL of @therangeuk stores & at exclusive launch prices too ✨, with 100’s of pr

4,942 likes, 315 comments - therangeuk on October 27, 2023: " We have some exciting news to share... After numerous requests we can FINALLY confirm that..."

www.instagram.com

 

[Citybreak1]

Seems the debt was too much to take on and easier to reopen. Same way Poundworld had come back as One Beyond. Be interesting to see who takes on former Wilkos seen lots of demand from Primark and One Beyond and other retailers. Seems few will sit empty. And some of the new Wilko will be sites that were not formally Wilko.

 

[Busaholic]

Seems the debt was too much to take on and easier to reopen. Same way Poundworld had come back as One Beyond. Be interesting to see who takes on former Wilkos seen lots of demand from Primark and One Beyond and other retailers. Seems few will sit empty. And some of the new Wilko will be sites that were not formally Wilko.

Plymouth and Exeter will see two of the first new stores, presumably as the Range's owner hales from the area.

 

[Mojo]

Wilko social media today has confirmed that the first two shops in Exeter and Plymouth will open on 1st December. The location of one of the two shops in the South East has been announced as Luton (although it’s legally in the East of England), which will open on 8th December. The locations of the other shop in the South East and in the North have not been announced, but they will both open before Christmas.

 

[Yew]

Let me guess, moving from high-street locations out out-of-town retail parks with free parking?

 

[Richardr]

Let me guess, moving from high-street locations out out-of-town retail parks with free parking?

Luton remains in the Arndale Centre (The Mall).