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I've always like Wilko's, just from the weird range of stuff that you can buy there, but its always been very good value, and I've always found them to stock good quality but cheap DIY stuff, and the DIY stuff you need but is handy to just pick off a shelf rather than order online.
The last couple of times Ive been in the shelves have looked a little empty, which I thought was odd, and then on the news this morning it was confirmed they are winding down 🙁
Its a place Ive shopped at from getting my first house 30 or so years ago.
Wilko took over from Woolworths and now I think it's b&m. Only room for one giant odds and ends shop.
I will miss the pick and mix.
It's about the only shop I go in in town these days, mainly for the same reasons you mention.
Be sad to see it go. We have a B&M too, which is similar, but not the same.
Yeah I will miss it - I often use it for bits n' bobs and I like both the sweet pick n' mix and the ironmongery pick n' mix (being able to get a bag full of random screws, washers, bolts etc).
Market is saturated at that end now - B&M, Home Bargains, Boyes, Poundland, The Range - sad to see them go but they've been squeezed out by people doing it better.
Home Bargains in my local town is streets aheads of Wilko.
And everyone is dipping into everyone else's market too - it's hard to have a USP now.
Use Wilko a lot for cleaning products, personal hygiene and other bits. I reckon someone will take them over.
Where will I get Kilner jars from now?
Knock yourself out!...
https://www.therange.co.uk/search?q=kilner%20jar#in_stock_f=true&sort=relevance&page=1&lpp=24
Another shop selling cheap Chinese landfill at barely above cost bites the dust - good.
I’ll miss their great selection of light bulbs.
Home bargains is streets ahead, but not down south. A visit to home bargains is a highlight of a trip to the mil in Liverpool.
Another shop selling cheap Chinese landfill at barely above cost bites the dust – good
We have a B&M too, which is similar, but not the same.
I disagree with the cheap chinese stuff. It is generally good quality. I get loads of light bulbs from them, screws, hooks etc. I would say its much better quality than Lidl/Aldi etc.
Yep B&M cant quite cut it in the same way, but I cant say quite why !
Shame, I hadn't appreciated until @verses said, that it's really the only reason I go into town now. I'd not used Amazon before covid and have since stopped using them but it gets increasingly hard.
Another shop selling cheap Chinese landfill at barely above cost bites the dust – good
Said the snob who has never set foot in a Wilkos
Another shop selling cheap Chinese landfill at barely above cost bites the dust – good
Thereby reducing competition, allowing competitors to increase their prices, affecting those who can least afford it. Yeah, really good.
Unfortunately for me my Amazon prime account has stopped me shopping @ Wilko - when I worked just down the road from one I prob went in most days.
Now I've been rural living/working for the past eight years, I've prob only been in once or twice in that time. I'm all for promoting the high street, I had a career built on that premise, but for me the high street is now a day out rather than a necessity visit that Wilko would provide.
I've had loads of tools, paint, picture frames, and stuff from there. It's the first place I look when I need something but I'm not sure exactly what. They usually have something to fit the purpose.
I still do my monthly toiletries run there. I go down from work and fill my backpack with soap, toothpaste, deodorant etc. It's far cheaper than the big supermarkets.
Good for gardening stuff aswell.
Unfortunately for me my Amazon prime account has stopped me shopping @ Wilko – when I worked just down the road from one I prob went in most days.
Yep, that's another reason that it will be sad to see them go - more cheap stuff being sold by Amazon. I work in a city centre and Wilko's usually have the things I need that otherwise I'd end up buying from Amazon.
go into one leading up to Halloween/Christmas/whatever. The amount of cheap plastic disposable seasonal shite is absolutely disgraceful.Said the snob who has never set foot in a Wilkos
They have been caught in a pincer movement between a diminished high street and growing competition from B&M and a cleaner more professional version of B&M in Home Bargains
go into one leading up to Halloween/Christmas/whatever. The amount of cheap plastic disposable seasonal shite is absolutely disgraceful.
That's hardly unique to Wilkos, although admittedly "I jumped off a bridge because everyone else was doing it" isn't a great excuse.
It's more the garden and DIY stuff, toiletries (same brand as everywhere else) and occasionally homewares, I use it for.
I suspect ebay will become my source of "odd sized DIY bits", instead (it already is to some extent)
Never heard of them! England only?
Another shop selling cheap Chinese landfill at barely above cost bites the dust – good.
I’ll be sure to pass on your condolences to their stafff when they lose their jobs.
What an utter ****
of course in towns that still have an indie hardware shop, these are perfect as generally cheaper than Wilkos, better range of random stuff, and (usually) decent advice available also. We're lucky to have one (although the whole town has very few chain stores and historically has been very anti them) but I suspect these have largely been forced out by the likes of Wilkos etc as people value the convenience (i.e. they are lazy) of being able to get everything in one place. Ironically Wilkos are now feeling the bite as something even [I]more[/I] convenient has come along (Amazon/internet).I suspect ebay will become my source of “odd sized DIY bits”, instead
of course in towns that still have an indie hardware shop, these are perfect as generally cheaper than Wilkos
We have two in our town (Harrogate) and both are over-priced (especially the one on Cold Bath Road) – I once bought some roofing washers from them and they were more than four times the price that I could get them for elsewhere. I have never been back.
towns that still have an indie hardware shop
If only!
We have one, but they only sell decent quality tools, so a pair of pliers start at £20 and go upwards to over £100 for uber quality German steel...
Not much overlap with Wilco etc...
weird, all the ones down here (south-east) are the complete opposite of that!We have two in our town (Harrogate) and both are over-priced
buy cheap buy twice tho isn't it. My dads toolbox is full of shite Wilkos tools such as pliers that don't grip anymore or screwdrivers that are brilliant at rounding off screw heads 😂We have one, but they only sell decent quality tools,
They're a decent sized employer down here, seem to have good staff retention and they often employ individuals who may struggle to find work elsewhere. It's a very busy shop, I'm surprised they're closing based on our local branch.
I'll miss it hugely, get practically all my general household 'stuff' from there.
go into one leading up to Halloween/Christmas/whatever. The amount of cheap plastic disposable seasonal shite is absolutely disgraceful.
Now why would I do that when I purchase my bespoke decorative items handmade by Peruvian tribesmen on my annual travels?
I'd recommend trying The Range for your 'everything you could possibly need and stuff you never thought of' needs.
We (here in Bury) have got The Range that have taken over the huge building vacated by Debenhams going bust. Its fantastic!
I can go and buy really solid, good quality picture frames, mounting board and art supplies and then as I walk towards the checkout theres a freezer full of frozen Greggs pasties and Hollands pies
Truly a one stop shop! What's not to love? 😀
must be an anomaly. The general trend now is shopping in out-of-town retail parks which is why B&M etc are doing so well, and Wilkos (having most of their stores in high streets) is failing. Of course, this trend has been evident for a while, they just haven't bothered to react to it! At least the owners have cashed in while they still can though! (from the Guardian:It’s a very busy shop, I’m surprised they’re closing based on our local branch.
)Despite its problems, the owners of Wilko, led by the Wilkinson family, took £3m in dividends in the 12 months to the end of February 2022. In accounts filed at Companies House last year, the group’s auditors warned it had “insufficient committed financing” to withstand a “severe but plausible downturn in trading activity”.
buy cheap buy twice tho isn’t it. My dads toolbox is full of shite Wilkos tools such as pliers that don’t grip anymore or screwdrivers that are brilliant at rounding off screw heads
But some people only want to buy stuff for very occasional use (and they are often on limited budgets). So, whilst a £100 set of pliers is undoubtedly going to be better than a set of Wilko's own-brand ones at £5, for a great many people it would be a complete waste of money. I will be sad to see them go.
We (here in Bury) have got The Range that have taken over the huge building vacated by Debenhams going bust. Its fantastic!
the nearest one to us is 25 miles away !
What’s not to love?
We have B&M, Range and Home Bargains, but they're all out of town (there's a smaller B&M in the town), so much less convenient.
If one of them moved into the old empty Debenhams, that'd be great, but I suspect the rent would be astronomical.
I suspect the rent on this huge, prime town-centre retail space is astronomical...
But every time I go in there to stock up (which is pretty regularly) its always really busy, so they must be dong well
Wilko head office and distribution centre are a big employer here in Worksop, so the potential job losses will be hard for our already struggling town.
I suspect the rent on this huge, prime town-centre retail space is astronomical…
Although they might have got a bargain if they are likely to attract more customers to the area. Destination retailers often get very generous deals from struggling shopping centers eg all fit out costs paid and 3 years free rent...
True. I doubt there were many retailers queueing up to take on a property that size. I'm glad its there though. Its definitely not 'Chinese landfill' in there. I buy a lot of branded art supplies (like Daler-Rowney mounting board), some of it at half the price of other retailers
@revs1972 I'd direct your ire about job losses to the family and board who ripped the arse out of the company by being both greedy and shortsighted mate.
I hate these shops, especially The Range. It sells absolute shite that falls apart in months and caters to people who just don't care about how stuff is made, what its made from, where its made or how long it lasts. Pile it high sell it cheap and then when it breaks just buy some more. Bollox to that. And don't give me the guff about how its all some people can afford - proper poor people don't shop there, its the middle classes who want a house that looks like them posh ones on the telly or want to change their 'decor' every year cos grey was sooooo 2022.
As for the tools.......most are softer than the bolts they are tightening.
Rubbish is what it is and rubbishtips are where it ends up.
Back in it's heyday, Super Dry was so desired they effectively held auctions with shopping centers, seeing who would pay them the most to open a store there...
As for the tools…….most are softer than the bolts they are tightening.
Reminds me of Planet-X, I bought a tri-spoke allen key thing.
First try using 4mm on a bottle cage bolt, the allen key bit just twisted round like a twirl and then snapped after two full rotations.
Wish I'd taken a photo...
I hate these shops, especially The Range. It sells absolute shite that falls apart in months and caters to people who just don’t care about how stuff is made, what its made from, where its made or how long it lasts.
Sounds to me that you've never actually been in there. Maybe your pony was too tall to get through the doors?
As I've just said, I go in there for Branded art supplies, and they do really solid, good quality picture frames. Miles better than the flimsy, crap ones in places like IKEA
Sounds to me that you’ve never actually been in there.
Yep, see also page 1 of thread.
There's one 5min from my house. I buy washing up liquid, washing liquid for clothes, bleach, deoderant, toothpaste, razors & bog rolls etc. Because it's half the price of the supermarket. I bought some towels in there about five years ago, they're still good, and heaven forbid I even fitted my kitchen blind up with screws and wall plugs bought from there. It's still up and my electric screwdriver didn't mince the screws.
B&M is surprisingly good. Before you get to the Chrome Painted Plastic Goods aisles they've got a pretty reasonable food section.
Never heard of them! England only?
Formerly Wilkinson's, if that helps any. They rebranded to the nickname that no-one had ever said. Or at least, the one near me did.
We don't have a Wilco's, but we do have a Quality Save, Tag line: putting the K back into Kwality..
Formerly Wilkinson’s, if that helps any. They rebranded to the nickname that no-one had ever said. Or at least, the one near me did.
In Derbyshire it's always been called Wilko's even when it was Wilkinsons!
There’s one 5min from my house. I buy washing up liquid, washing liquid for clothes, bleach, deoderant, toothpaste, razors & bog rolls etc. Because it’s half the price of the supermarket.
I don't know what brands you're buying but the stuff I buy is exactly the same price in Wilkos as in the supermarkets, and I'm not exactly buying top-end toiletries. Mitchum is £3 everywhere, as on Wilkos' website. (although I stock up when it's on 3 for 2, or reduced to £2 as it very often is in all the shops at the same time.) Toothpaste is the same price. A pack of 9 rolls of toilet roll is actually more expensive in Wilkos than Aldi, by £1.50, but quality may vary of course.
I'll miss Wilkos, their homebrewing kits got me into brewing.
I’d recommend trying The Range for your ‘everything you could possibly need and stuff you never thought of’ needs.
The Range in Reading is just the worst place imaginable though.
Like Homebase for having only a half selection of stock, but worse.
Narrow isles you can barely fit down, with added special offer obstacles.
The sort of crap that ends up in TKMaxx, if you want gold sequin cusions and gold sequin curtains knock yourself out, there's an upside down gilded pineapple lamp to match.
The stuff is just junk, my OH regularly comes back with stuff from there, like new curtains to replace the old ones. I swear curtains are never something I considered could wear out. If she announces she's going into town to shop at the Range my heart actually sinks, doubly so if she's accompanied by her mum/sister as the amount of tat purchased seems to be proportional to the square of the number of people in the group.
Like Homebase for having only a half selection of stock, but worse.
They can't be worse than B&Q for stock control?
If you do a 'click and collect' order from them its absolute pot luck whether it'll actually be in there once you've been informed your order is ready to collect.
My favourite, having driven there to collect an order of A3 picture frames (B&Q picture frames are also top quality), was "yeah, well we know we've got 150 of them in stock somewhere, a pallet full, but nobody knows where they actually are"
"But you sent me an email saying my order was ready to collect"
"Yeah, well it would have been if we could have found them. They're in the warehouse somewhere"
Right, I'm off to Wilko's to get the individual pie dishes I had been looking at before they close up forever.
Aren't you supposed to support your local independent picture framer?🙂
I know we don't feel guilty about that anymore - every single time we try the price is enormous and they instantly get defensive if you wince. And then alway some garbage about how it HAS to be glass and how plastic would double the price (even though I can buy a huge sheet of acrylic for less than they want for a tiny bit of glass).
Yes, been to The Range (not to Wilko's though to be honest) there is one a few minutes from where I work. Funnily enough I bought some acrylic paint for my daughter for her GCSE art project as it was the nearest shop. She is not fussy, really not but she said the paint wasn't very good. It wasn't the branded stuff though as that had run out, just some brand I'd never seen and yes it was cheap. And rubbish. As was everything else - special mention to the inflatable kayaks and garden furniture which looked like it would collapse under the weight of a person and dissolve in the rain - but hey a whole patio set for £99!
No tack though so no point in bringing my little pony but @binners they do bike stuff so assume thats why you were there?
Edit: Oh yes just remembered, also bought a folding washing up bowl there as well - yeah that lasted well, about a month I think before it split.
I worked 20 hours a week in Wilco in the Crossgates Arndale as it was in 6th form. I did the kitchen and garden. At the time they didn't have barcode scanning checkouts. So i'd count all the stock on the shop floor and warehouse and then the new stock would come in 2 days later and I'd put it out on the shop and then put the rest back in the warehouse but the system didn't work very well and we end up with tonnes of stock that we could sell when people counted wrong or missed something in the warehouse that you then could never shift,
Another Wilko fan here. It's the baby robins that may suffer because of this as they are my go-to place for bird seed, peanuts & fat balls ☹️
Be a shame , my go to shop for dawg poo bags, and a cheeky sample from the pik’n’mix.My local is always busy🤷🏼♂️