Wilko shops on high streets and retail parks are to be opened by the brand’s new owner with the first five branches trading in time for Christmas, Retail Week can reveal.
The Range owner CDS Superstores, which bought the Wilko brand and website out of administration and is selling Wilko products in its stores, will open the first new Wilko shops in Plymouth and Exeter. They will be followed by two in the South East of England and one in the North.
There will be an “aggressive rollout” in the new year, including in Northern Ireland where Wilko did not formerly have branches. Former Wilko locations and new sites are under consideration for openings. The first five will provide an opportunity to test different approaches – some are single-floor stores while others are multistorey.
The new shops “will offer great value” across categories the retailer was previously well known for such as household, DIY, garden, homeware and pets. Shoppers will also be able to use in-store terminals to access the 100,000-strong wilko.com range for home delivery.
CDS Superstores chief executive Alex Simpkin said: “For the majority of its 93 years, Wilko was an incredibly successful business that gave its customers exactly what they needed to get their home and garden jobs sorted.
“It was their advanced own-brand capabilities that encouraged us to invest in the brand and wilko.com and we’re excited to now be selling Wilko products online once more and across our 200 stores network.”
“The public reaction to the loss of Wilko stores was undeniable. It’s clear that there’s a huge love for Wilko and we’ve seen an encouraging demand for the return of its own-brand products. That’s why we’ve taken the decision to reintroduce Wilko back to many of the high streets and communities that it used to so proudly serve.
“Our team from Wilko that joined us through the acquisition has shown true resilience. They’ve set to work to integrate the best parts of Wilko into The Range’s operational systems. We’re expanding that team every day with new Wilko hires and can’t wait to extend that back out to local communities.
“We’ll endeavour to give ex-Wilko employees priority as a part of the recruitment process for the new stores.”
CDS hopes landlords will “open productive conversations” about potential premises for the Wilko rollout programme.
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