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Not a great surprise although still very sad. The local Branch to me has had poor stock levels for quite a few months and at times when I was there it looked like there were more staff than customers. Too much competition from the likes of Home Bargains and The Range plus being town centre focused probably has done them in.
I will still miss them - quite decent range of DIY tools and vehicle bits and bobs.
Possible someone will rescue them but I doubt all the shops will survive.
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I have used Wilko mainly for garden supplies and bird food. The overheads these days of renting premises and heating and lighting costs must lay heavily on the bottom line of all high street retailers. At least they did not attract the nutters in Oxford St. but perhaps they are for another thread
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The problem apparently was that management missed financial opportunities to move forward after the pandemic. In that sort of business you can't stand still.
I very much hope Wilko survives. On the high street (as opposed to retail parks), it filled a gap in the market above the pound-shops - a sort of modern-day Woolworths. I liked shopping with them and if you searched carefully you could get decent stuff at reasonable prices. Let's hope they survive, somehow - reasonably intact.
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Sad for those who will now have to find a new job, but it is further proof of the death of the traditional high street.
Around 80% of households have access to a car and will use retail parks where parking charges tend towards zero. With the growth of online shopping, and loss of banks, clothing, etc it is no real surprise.
The only businesses left in the "original" high street are pound shops, fast food, betting, charity shops.. Rather than bemoaning the loss of the rest, it would be more productive to discuss how it can be regenerated to meet mid 21st century needs.
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I suspect B&M will pick up the customers, like Wilko did when Woolworths folded.
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With the growth of online shopping, and loss of banks, clothing, etc it is no real surprise.
The only businesses left in the "original" high street are pound shops, fast food, betting, charity shops..
The small town I live in (pop.~9000) still has a high street with an active weekly market, but it lost its last bank a year ago and has several charity shops, oriental takeaways and various hairdressers. One 'factory outlet', about ten pubs (some gastro), a first-rate butcher, a medium-sized Morrisons and one petrol station. Fortunately no other supermarkets have elbowed their way in, but there is Tesco 3 miles one way and Aldi 3 miles the other.
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Agreed, no great surprise.
I rate their own brand paint quite highly but it showed up one of their shortfalls even going back a few years. With so many colour options, it was often the case of ordering it in for click and collect. Whereas the likes of M&S, Next and Argos do (free) next day collection, Wilko would take 3 or 4 days and, I seem to recall, started charging for it. Their website couldn't state if a product was in stock and you were instructed not to phone the store to check availability either. Screwfix and Toolstation manage it. Whether it was lack of capital, poor management or something else, successful retailers need good IT.
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SWMBO will miss Wilko because they have been her preferred supplier of toothpaste for many years :-)
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I've found that they can be useful and good value, though - for my needs anyway - mainly for household implements, like floor mops, brushes, washing up gloves, etc, and no better on price than other high street 'discounters' and often the supermarkets.
I also agree that they've had stock issues - rather like (IMHO) Sports World do, where many shops don't have stock in (even before the Pandemic-related issues) and staff have no way of finding out if and when new stock will be arriving - it just does when it does, if it does at all.
I'd bet that a much larger percentage of their sales (like many physical shop chains) are now online, because people do not want to go (especially drive) to their 'nearest' shop only waste their trip because there's no stock for whatever reason - at least with Wilko (unlike Sports World) you can (I think) check online to see if there, or at least you could do that until they went into administration. Not so good for the not-web-savvy or the poor who don't have computers or smartphones.
I also find that Dunelm also overlaps their stock base to a degree, and they at least appear to have better stock control, and the Aldis and Lidls of this world also provide often cheaper own-brand alternatives, taking a significant chunk of their business as well.
I'm wondering if Wilko is the modern day equivalent of Woolworth's as a shop with not a proper defined customer base and significant issues with management at various levels.
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Mike Ashley to the rescue, maybe? He's sure to have looked at the opportunity.
I also found Wilko paints to be good, I frequently bought their aerosol paints for my model- making hobby. Good value and good quality. Will have to be Humbrol or Tamiya now, both more money especially Tamiya.
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I don't see a rescue happening.
AS a chain they simply did not have a big enough customer base with enough spending power to keep it viable. Their strategy seems to be stock a bit of everything in the hope of getting customers through the door. Mostly their stock is dominated by the cheap and often poor quality.
I have occasionally used them in the past - but only if already in town. The Range, Dunelm, B&Q etc have them beat for range and availability. Out of town typically = no congestion, no parking charges and no contest.
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Not sure I've ever been in a Wilko? Interested to see your a fellow modeller Xileno, I much prefer Tamiya paints, Humbrol paints particularly there acrylics have really gone down hill recently despite them now being made back in the UK.
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Interesting how we all have different experiences and opinions. I pick up Matchbox cars or Majorettes (French equivalent) from car boot sales that are shabby and renovate them. I find Tamiya a bit thin, it's easy to get runs and the last can I bought which was orange I didn't like the colour at all. It was different to the indicated colour. I find Humbrol to be slightly thicker and the colour accurate.
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Interesting how we all have different experiences and opinions. I pick up Matchbox cars or Majorettes (French equivalent) from car boot sales that are shabby and renovate them. I find Tamiya a bit thin, it's easy to get runs and the last can I bought which was orange I didn't like the colour at all. It was different to the indicated colour. I find Humbrol to be slightly thicker and the colour accurate.
I always find for cars using automotive spray paints gave the best results - assuming you are spraying them. Used to use them for the bodies and Revell acrylics mainly for the insides...mainly building Tamiya and Revell kits...don't have the time as much now to do them but have a few kits in to eventually get round to.
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I'm wondering if Wilko is the modern day equivalent of Woolworth's as a shop with not a proper defined customer base and significant issues with management at various levels.
Very much so. A shop without purpose that's not better than anywhere else will always struggle.
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Needles to say that the owners have taken their usual large dividends even when the company was in trouble year by year. A bit like the BHS guy Green but on a smaller scale. The pension scheme will bailed out by the public one as per usual. Legal robbery.
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Around 80% of households have access to a car and will use retail parks where parking charges tend towards zero. With the growth of online shopping, and loss of banks, clothing, etc it is no real surprise
This! Town centres are too much anti motorists.
I don't know why no political party takes motorist friendly view. Surely they could win votes?
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Councils are as much to blame, make it as difficult for people who actually travel to shop ( therefore keeping the town alive) as possible, its annoying enough just trying to find a toilet then the cheek of charging for it.
Nope, not playing their games any more, about the only town centre shop i still use is the excellent butcher.
Towns are in their dyingh throes, lawless streets as witnessed in central london and southend over the last few days with looting fools trying to emulate another bunch of looting fools in the usa will hasten the inevitable. Solvent civilised shopper will vote with their feet and their wallets, Amazon and well managed retail parks who discourage low lifes will flourish, the towns will suffer their fate.
Wilko should have followed the example of their more enlightened competitors and moved to new small retail parks, its not just free parking its convenient safe parking close the shops so you don't have to lug around heavy and/or bulky items through the streets.
As for politicians, the only time they are remotely interested in us less than equal plebs is during the run up to an election when they start spouting thingsthey think the electorate want to hear, they despise us anyway but its less obvious whilst they mug you for your vote.
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Councils are as much to blame, make it as difficult for people who actually travel to shop ( therefore keeping the town alive) as possible, its annoying enough just trying to find a toilet then the cheek of charging for it.
Nope, not playing their games any more, about the only town centre shop i still use is the excellent butcher.
Towns are in their dyingh throes, lawless streets as witnessed in central london and southend over the last few days with looting fools trying to emulate another bunch of looting fools in the usa will hasten the inevitable. Solvent civilised shopper will vote with their feet and their wallets, Amazon and well managed retail parks who discourage low lifes will flourish, the towns will suffer their fate.
Wilko should have followed the example of their more enlightened competitors and moved to new small retail parks, its not just free parking its convenient safe parking close the shops so you don't have to lug around heavy and/or bulky items through the streets.
As for politicians, the only time they are remotely interested in us less than equal plebs is during the run up to an election when they start spouting thingsthey think the electorate want to hear, they despise us anyway but its less obvious whilst they mug you for your vote.
The trouble with a town centre is that they are not designed for a lot of cars and can't really see as they ever could be without knocking down huge amounts of shops which would stop people wanting to visit them in in the first place. Any ideas?
The retail park/ large shopping centre is the modern day high st.
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Around 80% of households have access to a car and will use retail parks where parking charges tend towards zero. With the growth of online shopping, and loss of banks, clothing, etc it is no real surprise
This! Town centres are too much anti motorists.
I don't know why no political party takes motorist friendly view. Surely they could win votes?
Not the case in my town. One multi-storey has had 2 hours free parking for some time and now another in the town centre has 4 hours free.
I don't use one local retail park, the roads around it and car park are too congested.
Edited by bathtub tom on 13/08/2023 at 22:43
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Cwmbran a relatively new town in South Wales has had free parking in its large shopping centre since it opened 60 odd years ago. It has seen all the major stores come and go but in the last few years stores and banks are going and units empty. Large supermarkets have opened on the fringes with there own car parks but guess what restricted times and the parking sharks with their number plate cameras. A lot of people are too busy to shop or cannot be bothered. Others will use a gallon of fuel just to visit one shop without a thought for the cost. The sensible now shop on line in their own time and bargain hunt a few even ordering cars to be delivered to their door
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A
I don't use one local retail park, the roads around it and car park are too congested.
Same here, i don't go near the massive retail parks that have sprung up ie Riverside Northampton (except for the Toyota dealer) or Lakeside Rushden, its smaller 3/12 unit parks that are much better all round, easy free parking within 50 yards of the shop relatively traffic free unless at weekends, i'd never venture near any shop on a weekend anyway (benefit of working shifts, i'm almost always off work Mondays and finish work most other working days before 2pm), wifey much the same won't go near the town or any shops of a weekend.
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<< I'd never venture near any shop on a weekend anyway, wifey much the same won't go near the town or any shops of a weekend. >>
Try heading west from J14 on the M56 on a Saturday morning. There is often a half-mile tailback from the exit for Cheshire Oaks etc at the retail park near Ellesmere Port.
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<< I'd never venture near any shop on a weekend anyway, wifey much the same won't go near the town or any shops of a weekend. >>
Try heading west from J14 on the M56 on a Saturday morning. There is often a half-mile tailback from the exit for Cheshire Oaks etc at the retail park near Ellesmere Port.
Quite, Andrew, thankfully not one of my normal journeys any more.
Should you ever find yourself on the A45 Rushden Northants especially in the run up to Christmas expect the roundabout which serves as the only entry/exit to the place to be rammed with huge queues in all directions, locals including local HGV operators use all sorts of alternatives to avoid the place.
I don't quite understand the draw of such places, i've known people travel 150 miles to Cheshire Oaks to go clothes shopping, when Bicester Shopping village would be 40 minutes at the most...have a superb overcoat that camke from Bicester...incidentally the only public parking area in recent years i've seen owners of convertible cars feel safe to leave the roof down for extended periods of time whilst perusing the shops.
Edited by gordonbennet on 14/08/2023 at 12:41
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"i'm almost always off work Mondays"
Same here, and on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I avoid most places when the working classes are likely to be there, including retail parks during school holidays and from around 2:30 on school days when the bloated mothers with their bloated kids in their bloated SUVs (which they are unable to park in a marked bay) arrive.
;)
Edited by Chris M on 14/08/2023 at 12:57
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"I avoid most places when the working classes are likely to be there, including retail parks during school holidays and from around 2:30 on school days when the bloated mothers with their bloated kids in their bloated SUVs (which they are unable to park in a marked bay) arrive."
Got out of bed the wrong side, did we? :-))
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"Got out of bed the wrong side, did we? :-))"
Must have however, it wasn't as early as it would have been had I had to go to work :-)))
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