Wilko: Shoppers react as retailer goes into administration

Wilko announced on August 10 that it had fallen into administration.

The Press went along to speak to some of the shoppers leaving the York store, at Clifton Moor retail park, to ask for their reaction.

The retailer sells garden and outdoor equipment, DIY products, cleaning and household items, as well as pick-and-mix sweets.

The company says there are 415 stores and 12,500 staff are employed across mainland UK and headquarters in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

Chief executive officer Mark Jackson said Wilko was left with 'no choice' but to formally enter administration on Thursday after failed rescue talks.

Wilko had tried to find someone to buy the whole company in a solvent deal but were unable to secure this in recent days.

Sale posters have gone up already (Image: Kevin Glenton)

Most of the shelves at the company’s Clifton Moor retail park store were stocked on Friday afternoon (August 11) and plenty of shoppers were going into and out of the store.

Leaving with a tub of bird food was Stu Carradice from Aldwark.

He said: “It’s disappointing that such a well-known brand has effectively gone to the wire.

“I think the majority of people who are finding it difficult use places like Wilko to save money, rather than going to the main stores.

“Being a budget brand you’d have expected it to be one of the few that are still able to trade.

“A lot of people just don’t use stores anymore.”

READ MORE:

• 3 North Yorkshire Wilko stores that are at risk of closure
• Wilko collapses into administration as 12,000 jobs at risk
• Wilko files notice of intent to appoint administrators

Stu’s been buying from Wilko as far back as the store has been open, while doing his larger shop at neighbouring Tesco.

He’ll be buying everything there or using B&M, which he said was the obvious alternative.

Wilko had remained robust for many years despite wider challenges on the UK high street, growing as rivals such as Woolworths suffered financial difficulty.

Wilko in York (Image: Kevin Glenton)

The company reported strong profits for most of the last decade and saw its turnover peak at more than £1.6 billion in 2018, but by this point had seen profitability begin to decline amid pressure on local high streets.

Turnover has decreased in every year since as it saw challenges in the sector compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and tighter consumer budgets in the face of higher energy costs and mortgage rates.

Mr and Mrs Slaughter, from Malton, have also been coming to the York store since it opened.

They buy all sorts of household items and electricals and prefer the face-to-face transactions.

They said the rise in purchasing via the internet was part of the problem for Wilko and that a lot more companies will follow.

Mr Slaughter said: “You’re going to end up with the bulk of us internet shopping.

“It’s just so easy to click, click, click and it’s there.”

Mrs Slaughter said: “I like to see what I’m buying and see where my money’s going."

Sophie Creedon had come from Acomb and left the store with a pot of household paint to add to the shop she’d done a couple of days before with her partner's mum.

She said: “It’s not great is it really, it’s people losing their jobs when shops close.

“It’s not as easy to find a new job anymore.”

Shoppers liked that there was a range of products under one roof. (Image: Kevin Glenton)

Although York’s store is out-of-town, the size of some of Wilko's high street stores were also thought to be a burden.

Retail analyst Richard Hyman said: “They have excess space where they are selling a wide variety of products which they probably shouldn’t be selling to start with, stretching into all sorts of different markets.

“They are quite large for a lot of high streets, so have the expense of rents and rates associated, but also don’t have the practicality of retail parks, let’s say.

“There isn’t parking next to a lot of these stores, so for many people it doesn’t make sense to go there to buy large amounts of paint, or other core things like that which they sell.”

Other shoppers who’d been using Wilko for years were Beverly Stead and Jayden Cooke, both from Malton.

They had a photo frame that he’d been looking all over for, and a toolbox and said they’d need to go to different places now to get the things they buy.

Beverly has used Wilko because she knew that things she wanted were all in one place.

Jayden said: “It’s kind of an ‘everything’ shop isn’t it?

“It’s reasonably priced and I always come here whenever I need anything.”

They would have to now look at Asda or B&Q for the things they pick up at Wilko.