Wilkos in trouble?

[Geoff S]

It seems it's not just model retailers in trouble, Wilkos is also potentially likely to fall into administration.  We have a Wilkos in the two market towns within walking distance of us (Ripley and Belper, Derbys), they're never empty and you can rarely get out after a purchase and not have to queue to pay.  They have a great range of products that often help with my aeromodelling as well as more mundane DiY tasks.  If they aren't making money then I can't see who can be.  It's often our first port of call for lots of things - I hope they survive. On-line shopping is OK but I still like to shop where I can handle and examine the goods before buying.

[Colin Carpenter]

12000 jobs to go probably , in a sector that’s closing town centres at an alarming rate 😱😱Colin

[SIMON CRAGG]

Remember Maplins anybody?

 

Wilco's a bit the same on the modelling front........Various adhesives, filler, paint, DIY stuff. A real shame not only for us, but the 12k staff.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Watched an add on tv last night "Sketchers" (shoes) you don't have to bend down to put them on, wot a planet.

Wilkos was an Aladins cave.

[GrumpyGnome]

Wilkos in my area always seems pretty empty - N/E Yorks........ think all their trade has gone to B&M.

[Geoff S]

There's a B&M in Belper but it's a 10 minute walk from the town centre, next to Morrison's & Aldi, in what used to a B&Q-like place called Focus that I also used a lot but Wilkos on the main shopping street is always busy.  B&M is rubbish compared to Wilkos - no screws or nuts and bolts for a start.

 

I really hope it survives. We'll certainly miss it if it doesn't and so will 12,000 employees and their families.

 

Maplins was also a treasure trove. I always visited when I went to Derby.  It seems all the interesting shops are going leaving us with nothing but women's clothes outlets and coffee shops.  The indoor market in Derby has also closed I discovered when I went in for my cataract operation a week or two ago.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Geoff S

[PatMc]

3 hours ago, Geoff S said:

There's a B&M in Belper but it's a 10 minute walk from the town centre, next to Morrison's & Aldi, in what used to a B&Q-like place called Focus that I also used a lot but Wilkos on the main shopping street is always busy.  B&M is rubbish compared to Wilkos - no screws or nuts and bolts for a start.

 

I really hope it survives. We'll certainly miss it if it doesn't and so will 12,000 employees and their families.

 

Maplins was also a treasure trove. I always visited when I went to Derby.  It seems all the interesting shops are going leaving us with nothing but women's clothes outlets and coffee shops.  The indoor market in Derby has also closed I discovered when I went in for my cataract operation a week or two ago.

Geoff, you've missed out the most prolific type of shop in most small towns - the charity shop.😁

Edited August 3, 2023 by PatMc

[i12fly]

36 minutes ago, PatMc said:

Geoff, you've missed out the most prolific type of shop in most small towns - the charity shop.😁

Not shop but shops. Another small town near to Geoff, Matlock, I counted 13, and I'm not sure if I caught them all.  🙄

[RottenRow]

I hope Wilko survives; as others have written they have a lot of useful bits and pieces.

 

I called into my nearest store (Rushden in Northants) last week and was surprised at how bare many of the shelves were, and very few customers.

 

In many ways their shops remind me of Woolworths, and who would have thought that they would all have closed back when they did. They always seemed busy.

 

Brian.

[PatMc]

9 minutes ago, i12fly said:

Not shop but shops. Another small town near to Geoff, Matlock, I counted 13, and I'm not sure if I caught them all.  🙄

I used the singular as the generic term. We have them in the north of England probably in the same sort of density as most other small towns. I actually actively support some by donating clothing & other goods also have cards for their tax reclaim benefit.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Busy places in Donny, folk are a lot more willing to use/buy from them now, less stigma attached to it and a sign of the times.

[MattyB]

2 hours ago, RottenRow said:

I hope Wilko survives; as others have written they have a lot of useful bits and pieces.

 

I called into my nearest store (Rushden in Northants) last week and was surprised at how bare many of the shelves were, and very few customers.

Our Wilko has been the same ever since COVID - they never seem to have been able to address their supply chain issues fully, being frequently out of stock of staple items for them like stationary and some cleaning products. We still use them, but nowhere as much as pre-Covid as a result - you just can’t be confident of getting everything on your list. B&M by contrast seem very well stocked, and have undoubtedly eaten a chunk of Wilco’s pie as a result, though their DIY and hardware range is not as extensive in most of their stores.

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by MattyB

[Ron Gray]

12 hours ago, john stones 1 - Moderator said:

Watched an add on tv last night "Sketchers" (shoes) you don't have to bend down to put them on, wot a planet.

Wilkos was an Aladins cave.

Sketchers shoes, wife and daughter have them and think they are brilliant, really comfy. Not sure they know about the no bending to put them on though! Personally I use a 3 foot long shoe horn and elastic laces 😂😂😂

[MattyB]

More on the reasons for Wilko's travails on the Beeb site - apparently the gaps may be because of their inability to pay suppliers...

 

"Wilko has already borrowed £40m from the restructuring specialist Hilco, cut jobs, rejigged its leadership team and sold off a distribution centre as it faced a cash squeeze after falling to a loss.

Shoppers have noticed gaps on shelves after Wilko struggled to pay suppliers and at least one credit insurer withdrew trade cover, prompting some companies to pause deliveries.

Richard Lim added: "It meant that they didn't have the cash to stump up for products... and it turns the retail business on its head."

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66394238

 

 

[Cuban8]

We have a large Wilco in Colchester town centre that we'd always visit for household odds and ends when we shopped at the town centre. Trouble is we don't use the town centre anymore for shopping. I don't think that we're unusual in that, certainly in our area the towncentre has been decimated by the rise of nearby retail parks, that have attracted the larger shops away from the high street - at least those that haven't gone bust already. Poor old Wilco's have just become victims of a wider decline in retail footfall along the rest of the high street, not that they were running a bad business.

Colchester town centre is a classic case where retail is giving way to fast food joints and coffee houses for its day business and a troublesome night time booze and 'clubbing' industry. The council describe all this as a vibrant and tranforming environment, welcoming of visitors (?|) to our historic town (which they now call a city, just because its got big and over developed) typical of councils' newspeak rubbish.

Our huge new retail park near the A12 is very popular and jam packed with shoppers on most days of the week - all built on greenfield land so more loss of agricultural production in order to fill the coffers of farmers willing to sell out. Hate the place myself and avoid it if at all possible.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Cuban8

[Robert Cracknell]

... and add to this the exorbitant Town centre parking costs and the problems in having to use a parking app.

Wilko should open some out of town stores!

[kc]

Wilko have stores out of town.   Lakeside Thurrock has one but it is more for household small furniture or decorative items than ironmongery, DIY, gardening or stationery like the other shops.  Still does DIY etc inside but not obvious from shop window.   Change of image not working?

 

Car parking has killed local town shops.   Greed by Councils charging for parking by putting yellow lines everywhere has killed the shops.   Why didn't they remember the Golden Egg story!

Edited August 4, 2023 by kc

[Bruce Collinson]

Because in the minds of the public sector wonks who make these decisions, rip up roads to instal empty bike lanes, operate forty different parking apps, instal parking ticket machines which take for ever to spit out a ticket, put cameras in bus lanes, etc, we are all about to use public transport or ride a bike.   So it serves all right.

 

Innit?

 

BTC (not from Tunbridge Wells).

[Geoff S]

10 minutes ago, Bruce Collinson said:

Because in the minds of the public sector wonks who make these decisions, rip up roads to instal empty bike lanes, operate forty different parking apps, instal parking ticket machines which take for ever to spit out a ticket, put cameras in bus lanes, etc, we are all about to use public transport or ride a bike.   So it serves all right.

 

Innit?

 

BTC (not from Tunbridge Wells).

 

Well, as we habitually walk, use the bus or cycle to either of our 2 Wilkos and never use the car it suits us.

[Cuban8]

On 04/08/2023 at 11:07, Robert Cracknell said:

... and add to this the exorbitant Town centre parking costs and the problems in having to use a parking app.

Wilko should open some out of town stores!

Parking at the coastal carparks that we use has doubled in cost this year. Used to be £4 for all day but now £8. £4 now only buys you up to two hours. You do get an hour free in some but not all though and some others charge motorcycles at the same rate as cars.

A revenue raising exercise on an easy target that gets diddly squat for the higher charge.

[Rich Griff]

Remember what Maggy said, "it's a car based economy"....

 

Yes it was/is, but there was no need to broadcast it !

 

I think that all these super shed stores are really missing a trick these days, vast roofs just ripe for....... vineyards ! 😀

 

No  no  no solar panels in sight.

[kevin b]

And inside you could grow other exotic plants with a "high street value"

🤣