Wilko about to collapse

[hifinutt]

Always sad to read of the demise of high street shops .wilko is much loved by many .hope they can get sorted

I guess the interesr rate rise today has not helped matters

 

[palindrome]

https://news.sky.com/story/some-12-...ail-chain-wilko-on-brink-of-collapse-12932997

There is clear inference that the belligerent Hunt/Sunak/BoE policy of interest rate rise hikes to force-a-recession-and-crash-the-economy-bulldozer-school-of-economics is to blame.

'The retailer has emerged as one of the first major victims of Britain's tougher economy, after consecutive interest rate rises that started in December 2021.'

John

 

[Jamie]

I love Wilko's. The only place left in some town/city centres to get various odds and sods of hardware, paint, garden stuff etc. Although my wife says she hates them, but she never has the need to shop there. I hope they survive.

 

[mercalia]

it is the only place you can get bird food at a decent price. My wild birds will have to look elsewhere

 

[Al M]

Wilko's is my go to shop for bits and bobs. But since they changed into more of a home furnishing/supermarket type place they have gone downhill. Every time I go in now they simply don't seem to have what I want in stock or they have stopped selling it. A real shame if they go but I don't think it's just down to the economics of government, failing to read the market correctly (like a lot of firms!) and an online service which takes forever to be delivered when others can do next day is to blame as well as sky high rents and rates from greedy Landlords and Councils.

 

[Finnegan]

Cheap tat, but handy if you just need a paintbrush or a screwdriver. What an anxious time for the 12,000 employees.

 

[Barrymagrec]

I`m astonished that any high street shops can survive these days.

 

[Pete MB&D]

There was naff all in when I last went in, I wanted some evostick and that’s all they had in the glue section, the rest of the nearby shelf’s had about half the stock missing.


Pete

 

[sean99]

I`m astonished that any high street shops can survive these days.

Supermarkets of course, and clothing, because sizing is a crap-shoot. On my last few trips to the UK I've been amazed by the percentage of high streets that are either charity shops or cafes - and where folks get the money to support all of the cafes / restaurants.

 

[Vinny]

There is clear inference that the belligerent Hunt/Sunak/BoE policy of interest rate rise hikes to force-a-recession-and-crash-the-economy-bulldozer-school-of-economics is to blame.

Not really.

They have, sadly, been in the do-do for ages, although that did not stop the Wilkinson family taking large pay-outs late last/early this year. when the company was making a substantial loss
They were given extended credit early this year but their suppliers lost confidence and Wilko's became late-payers. They also got a non-family-member in to run the comapany a year or so back.

They are very handy for lots of things but that they have survived this long, selling what they do, where they do, being realistic, is amazing.

Hopefully they will survive in some form or other.

For nitty-gritty details, the Grauniad, and elsewhere, have a few articles.

 

[Yank]

Supermarkets of course, and clothing, because sizing is a crap-shoot. On my last few trips to the UK I've been amazed by the percentage of high streets that are either charity shops or cafes - and where folks get the money to support all of the cafes / restaurants.

Hair salons and day spas will continue to proliferate as well.

 

[juicy_clams]

it is the only place you can get bird food at a decent price. My wild birds will have to look elsewhere

Try https://www.maltbysstores.co.uk/ for wild bird seed - great service, and cheap delivery.

 

[Darren]

Those poor staff. I do hope things work out for them.
Sadly, you cant swim against market forces forever and the public get what the public want. The retail sector has been so disrupted and so many good business's lost that it makes me weep, though, I concede that not enough people feel the same.

 

[Vinny]

Feeding wild birds is a fool's errand, and worse.
It provides entertainment for the person feeding them, but provides not much to the birds - there are various published studies that come to this conclusion.
Particularly bad news is feeding suet, which no bird, except probably predatory ones feeding naturally on birds and/or mammals, can digest. Studies show REDUCED survival and breeding success in birds feeding on suet. Most of this has been known for umpteen decades, in the same way that sturnids and turdids cannot digest carb's.

The RSPB are far too busy raking-in money to read-up and work all this out and publicise it.

 

[miktec]

No surprise there; long since stopped bothering with Wilkos as their focus seemed to shift more and more in the wrong direction.

When I do pop into Lincoln for anything cheap tat oriented, Boyes and The Range cover Wilkos' old territory much better and have done for some time.

I think Wilkos simply underestimated how strong the competition is in their particular sector and how wobbly their offering was - feel sorry for the staff but thems the breaks.....

 

[gintonic]

hardly knew they existed - had to google to find nearest one, about 20-30 minutes drive away, hidden in a pedestrianised precinct we never visit

 

[Big Tabs]

I love Wilko's. The only place left in some town/city centres to get various odds and sods of hardware, paint, garden stuff etc. Although my wife says she hates them, but she never has the need to shop there. I hope they survive.

We have a Boyes store, which seems to have Wilco’s type stock plus other bits.

 

[Mike Reed]

Feeding wild birds is a fool's errand,

Feeding peanuts to squirrels, as some neighbour does, has sent them nutty. I've got peanut plants springing up all over the place (incl. greenhouses !!!!) and I constantly find peanut shells (some whole) in my water butts. Have grey squirrels evolved to fly recently? My gutters are at least 20 feet above ground !

I love Wilco's for one thing. Seeds and some garden additives (tomato food, e.g.). They have a huge selection; their own, which are very cheap but good, and Johnson's. They also have a 3 for 2 promotion each spring/summer. They will be missed if they really do go to the wall, albeit on only 2 trips per annum. Browsing actual seeds is sooooo much nicer than browsing on the internet.

 

[notaclue]

Wilko's is my go to shop for bits and bobs. But since they changed into more of a home furnishing/supermarket type place they have gone downhill. Every time I go in now they simply don't seem to have what I want in stock or they have stopped selling it. A real shame if they go but I don't think it's just down to the economics of government, failing to read the market correctly (like a lot of firms!) and an online service which takes forever to be delivered when others can do next day is to blame as well as sky high rents and rates from greedy Landlords and Councils.

There was naff all in when I last went in, I wanted some evostick and that’s all they had in the glue section, the rest of the nearby shelf’s had about half the stock missing.

Yes, I have noticed this too in the last few years. But we now know this is because they are struggling to pay suppliers and cannot afford the stock.

Also very few staff these days. And the 'automatic tills' are just the scan guns and tills that the staff used to use, except you now use them!

Wilko never recovered from Covid, in my opinion. Was never the same after that. No doubt not helped by the boom in internet shopping during Covid.

 

[matt j]

The high street is going to end up being a metaphor for the country as a whole, just loads of out of date tat that used to be good once before the grifters wrecked it.