A bit of Christmas cheer has come in the form of the first Wilko concept stores opening under the historic retail brand’s new owner, CDS Superstores, owner of The Range.
The Exter and Plymouth branches were the first two of five stores being opened by CDS Superstores, which rescued the much-loved brand from administration in September. The company said it intends to prioritise hiring former employees of Wilko for its new shops and has already recruited 75% of the original team in Plymouth and 30% in Exeter.
Both of the shops offer an on-site paint mixing service and stock Wilko’s home and garden range, with a mix of brands and its own label. In the time-honoured tradition of high street staples like Argos and Screwfix, self-service terminals will enable customers to browse and order from some 100,000 items available via Wilko’s website, with home delivery.CDS Superstores CEO, Alex Simpkin said: “The customer reaction to the new stores opening today has been fantastic and proves we’re doing the right thing in returning this much-loved retailer to UK high streets.”
The Exeter store opened with a flourish at 9.00am on Friday 1st December in the Guildhall Shopping Centre. The first 50 customers were given an exclusive Wilko goody bag to celebrate the opening. Lord Mayor of Exeter, Councillor Kevin Mitchell, also put in an appearance. Alongside the return of The National Lottery, the new store is offering old favourites like pick and mix, an extensive pet and garden section plus an additional 20% more new lines, in addition to the paint mixing service.
Store Manager Tom Murrin said: “We’re thrilled to be opening the doors of one of the first new wilko stores and anticipate a great response from past and future Exeter customers alike.”The second new store, which also opened on 1st December, is local to The Range headquarters in Plymouth. Alex Simpkin added: “It’s clear that there’s a huge love for Wilko and we’re proud to confirm we’ll be re-introducing the brand to Plymouth.
We’re also glad to be bringing employment opportunities and for helping local families and communities have easy access to all the everyday home and garden items they need once again.“One of five concept stores, this initial roll-out kickstarts a programme of store openings that will continue throughout 2024 and for the first time in the brand’s history, will see Wilko stores arrive on high streets in Northern Ireland.”
The Range, which operates 210 home and garden stores in the UK and Ireland, struck a deal with administrators, PWC, to buy the 93 year old Wilko brand for a reported £5mn.
The deal did not include any of Wilko’s 408 store sites, 71 of which have been acquired by Poundland owner, Pepco, offering hope to some of Wilko’s 12,000 redundant staff. A separate agreement has been reached with discount retailer, B&M, which is to purchase up to 51 Wilko properties for £13mn, but doesn’t include a jobs guarantee.
The owner of HMV, Doug Putman, had previously come up with a rescue plan for most of Wilko’s shops, but said that the ‘greed’ of ‘super inflexible’ landlords stood in the way. Wilko’s chair and granddaughter of the founder, Lisa Wilkinson, has also been criticised for the firm’s collapse, as the family paid itself a £3mn dividend as the company hit the buffers.
