Type Private Operating income Number of locations 387 (2016) CFO Aidan Connolly COO Sean Toal | Industry Retail Headquarters Worksop, United Kingdom Revenue 1.501 billion GBP (2014) Founded 1930 | |
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Key people Lisa Wilkinson, Director
Sean Toal, Chief Operating Officer Products Basic groceries, consumer goods, DIY, stationery, pet supplies Owner Tony Wilkinson and Lisa Wilkinson (100%) Parent organization Wilkinson Hardware Stores Ltd Profiles | ||
Wilko Retail Ltd. (formerly Wilkinson Hardware Stores) is a British high-street chain which sells homewares and household goods.
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Founded in 1930 as Wilkinson Cash Stores by James Kemsey Wilkinson in Leicester, the company has remained largely in the hands of the founding family. When Tony Wilkinson, the son of the founder, retired as chairman after 45 years in June 2005, he was replaced by his niece, Karin Swann, and his daughter, Lisa Wilkinson. In 2014, Karin Swann sold her family's 50% holding in the business to Lisa Wilkinson.
Product range
The Wilko product range concentrates on household essentials, including homewares, textiles, DIY, cleaning products, health and beauty lines, stationery, confectionery, pet products and kitchen and bathroom goods. A large proportion of the range is made up of own-label products sold under the Wilko brand, but like other retailers, Wilko has started to use private label brands. Wilko sells seasonal lines such as gardening products in the summer as well as Christmas decorations and an expanded toys and games range from September to January.
Stores
The first Wilkinson store was opened in Leicester in 1930, increasing to a total of nine branches by 1940; the Beaconsfield store can be seen in the background in the 1945 film Brief Encounter. By the end of the 1980s Wilkinson had a total of 78 stores, increasing to over 150 by the time of the founder's death, in 1997.
Wilkinson opened its Scottish outlet in Castle Douglas on 23 January 2009, in a store formerly occupied by The Co-operative Group. Stores were subsequently opened in Scotland that same year in Motherwell on 17 July, in Irvine in November and in Clydebank on 2 December. In 2010, the stores planned for Scotland to open were Hamilton, Kilmarnock, Greenock and Livingston.
Wilkinson has a trend of taking over redundant former stores rather than building new ones, particularly in the West Midlands; notable examples include the former Kwik Save store in Great Bridge (May 2008), the former Safeway store in Halesowen (November 2006) and the former Marks & Spencer store in Dudley (July 1991). The opening of a store in Dudley was an example of a trend of the retailer to take over large units in town centres left vacant by the relocation of big retail names to out of town locations, as Marks & Spencer had closed its Dudley store in 1990, in favour of a new store at the nearby Merry Hill Shopping Centre.
The Dudley store was so successful that a £250,000 expansion to the upper level of the building (initially, only the ground floor was used) was completed three years after its opening. By then, Wilkinson was one of Britain's fastest growing retailers.
In 2012, Wilkinson began rebranding its stores as Wilko, after its own brand products marketed under the Wilko name, and by 2014, most stores had been rebranded.
Distribution
The Wilko National Distribution Centre is situated on the outskirts of Worksop, in close proximity to the A1. The company awarded a five-year logistics contract to Wincanton plc in March 2017.
Marketing
Advertising is concentrated in the press, such as inserts included with local newspapers. Advertising emphasises value for money, with in-store promotion encouraging customers to purchase more than one item when they visit the store.
A revamped version of the brand was unveiled in December 2008. Designed by Jupiter Creative, the brand was showcased in new format stores in Thornaby, Northallerton, (which replaced a former Woolworths store), Sheffield, Leicester, Newton Aycliffe and Walton-on-Thames as well as the Castle Douglas, Motherwell and Clydebank stores in Scotland.
Financial success
Turnover for the year ending February 2013 was in excess of £1.5 billion.