Five Wilko shops to reopen before Christmas
Despite 400 stores recently closing, new locations, such as in Northern Ireland are to open.
Friday 27 October 2023 13:54, UK
Five Wilko shops will reopen before Christmas, the new owner of part of the high street hardware chain has said.
Two Wilko shops in Plymouth and Exeter will become concept stores, The Range's parent company CDS Superstores said, while a further two stores will be in the South East and the final will be in the North.
And in the next two years more than a hundred Wilko stores will be open across the UK.
A mix of new shops, including in Northern Ireland for the first time, as well as shuttered stores will comprise the rollout.
Wilko products and other brand names will be on sale in the shops: DIY products, Christmas decorations, pet supplies, outdoor items, cleaning products and a range of other categories are to be on offer.
It comes just weeks after 400 stores were closed and nearly all 12,500 jobs were lost as Wilko went bust.
Former Wilko employees will have priority when it comes to staffing the shops, said the chief executive of CDS Superstores, trading as The Range and Wilko.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Value retail chain The Range had acquired Wilko's intellectual property and website. It had recently announced that, from today, Wilko branded goods would be on sale in 210 The Range stores and online.
Wilko brand home, garden wares and lifestyle products will also soon be available from wilko.com.
Assets were sold by Wilko administrators PwC in an effort to pay creditors. A bidder for the entirety of the business was sought but not found.
Poundland agreed to take over the leases of 71 Wilko shops and rebrand them.
The Range purchased Wilko's intellectual property for £5m.
More than a quarter of Wilko's estate - were sold to B&M European Value Retail and Poundland's owner.