Wilkinson (shop)
Encyclopedia
Wilkinson or Wilko is a British high-street discount chain with over 300 stores, selling primarily homewares and household goods.
Founded in 1930 Wilkinson Cash Stores by James Kemsey Wilkinson, the company has remained largely in the hands of the founding family since. When chairman Tony Wilkinson, the son of the founder, retired as Chairman after 45 years in 2005, he was replaced by his niece, Karin Swann, and his daughter, Lisa Wilkinson.
Product range
The Wilkinson 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.Seasonal ranges are introduced on a rotational basis, with garden tools and plants in summer and Christmas decorations from September to January. Toys are now a permanent addition to the seasonal line, however, the company does increase the number of toys during the Christmas period.
During 2007 the company introduced a grocery range and a "food to go" offering in some larger stores. In November 2007, the company opened its first convenience style store.
Stores and distribution
The first Wilkinson store was opened in LeicesterLeicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
in 1930, increasing to a total of nine branches by 1940; the Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
store can be seen in the background in the 1945 film Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter is a 1945 British film directed by David Lean about the conventions of British suburban life, centring on a housewife for whom real love brings unexpectedly violent emotions. The film stars Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway and Joyce Carey...
. 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 their first Scottish outlet in Castle Douglas
Castle Douglas
Castle Douglas , a town in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway, lies in the eastern part of Galloway known as the Stewartry, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet.-History:...
on 23 January 2009 in a store formerly occupied by The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...
. Stores were subsequently opened in Scotland that same year in Motherwell
Motherwell
Motherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
on 17th July, in Irvine
Irvine, North Ayrshire
Irvine is a new town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland. According to 2007 population estimates, the town is home to 39,527 inhabitants, making it the biggest settlement in North Ayrshire....
in November and in Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
on 2 December. During 2010, the latest stores planned for Scotland set to open are Hamilton
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
, Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
, Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
and Livingston
Livingston, Scotland
Livingston is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is the fourth post-WWII new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is about 15 miles west of Edinburgh and 30 miles east of Glasgow, and is bordered by the towns of Broxburn to the northeast and Bathgate to the northwest.Livingston...
.
By October 2009, Wilkinson had a total of 359 stores nationwide, with stores averaging in excess of 17000 sq ft (1,579.4 m²), and employed over 22,000 people. From 2010 over the next 3 years the board plan to reach 500 stores
The company has two distribution centres:
- D.C.1 & Head Office called JK House (including a store for current team members only) - based in Manton Wood, WorksopWorksopWorksop is the largest town in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England on the River Ryton at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest. It is about east-south-east of the City of Sheffield and its population is estimated to be 39,800...
, NottinghamshireNottinghamshireNottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. Which when opened in 1995 had the fastest sorting system in the UK. - D.C.2 - based in MagorMagor, MonmouthshireMagor - meaning 'a wall' - is a large village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, between Chepstow and the city of Newport, and adjoining the Caldicot Levels beside the Severn estuary. Magor lies close to the M4 motorway, which has a nearby motorway service area sharing its name...
, South Wales.
The logo on the shop (right) is using the former Wilkinson logo which was used until 2010.
Wilkinson has a trend of taking over redundant former stores rather than building new ones, particularly in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
; notable examples include the former Kwik Save
Kwik Save
Kwik Save was a discount supermarket chain in the United Kingdom until 2007. Its stores were small to medium sized high street supermarkets, mainly located in areas with below average incomes...
store in Great Bridge
Great Bridge
Great Bridge may refer to:* Great Bridge, Virginia, a community in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA.* Battle of Great Bridge, revolutionary war battle in Virginia* Great Bridge, West Midlands, a town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England....
(May 2008), the former Safeway
Safeway (UK)
Safeway was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom. It started as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold off in 1987....
store in Halesowen
Halesowen
Halesowen is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273...
(early 2007) and the former Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
store in Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
(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 during 1990 in favour of a new store at the nearby Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Westfield Merry Hill is a shopping centre in Brierley Hill near Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several expansion and renovation projects taking place since. The original developers and owners were Richardson Developments but the Centre has had a number...
. 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 this stage, Wilkinson was one of Britain's fastest growing retailers.
Marketing
Wilkinson's advertising is concentrated in the press, such as through 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 Wilkinson brand was unveiled in 2008. Designed by Jupiter Creative, the brand was showcased in new format stores in Thornaby, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, Newton Aycliffe
Newton Aycliffe
Newton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act of 1946, it is the oldest new town in the north of England.-Geography:...
and Walton-on-Thames
Walton-on-Thames
Walton-on-Thames is a town in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey in South East England. The town is located south west of Charing Cross and is between the towns of Weybridge and Molesey. It is situated on the River Thames between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock.- History :The name "Walton" is...
, as well as the Castle Douglas
Castle Douglas
Castle Douglas , a town in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway, lies in the eastern part of Galloway known as the Stewartry, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet.-History:...
, Motherwell
Motherwell
Motherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
& Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
stores in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Elements of the new brand have since been phased in more widely, including point-of-sale materials, carrier bags and a relaunched website. Stores in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and Retford
Retford
Retford is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England, located 31 miles from the city of Nottingham, and 23 miles west of Lincoln, in the district of Bassetlaw. The town is situated in a valley with the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal running through the centre of the...
have also recently been converted to the new One Touch format.
Incentives
Wilkinson has launched a Saving Stamp Scheme across all its stores. Although not an unusual practice in the retail market, it is unique to Wilkinson because it has never launched any kind of loyalty or saving incentives in the past, preferring to concentrate on its 'Everytime' value promise. This is no longer available in Wilkinson stores as it was replaced with gift cards.Employees of the company are offered a 13% discount at all Wilkinson Stores after four weeks service, as well as the same discount on products in the Wilkinson Plus catalogue.
Wilkinson stores also donate 1% of their annual profits to charitable causes.
Financial success
Turnover for the year ending January 2009 was in excess of £1.4 billion.| Year ending | Turnover (£m) | Trading profit Earnings before interest and taxes In accounting and finance, earnings before interest and taxes is a measure of a firm's profit that excludes interest and income tax expenses. Operating income is the difference between operating revenues and operating expenses... (£m) |
Operating profit (£m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 February 2010 | 1740 | 68.1 | |
| 31 January 2009 | 1,400 | 31.6 | |
| 1 February 2008 | 1,364 | 88 | 50.3 |
| 2 February 2007 | 1,246 | 85 | 48.4 |
| 27 January 2006 | 1,135 | 25.7 | |
| 1 January 2005 | 1,116 | 54.3 | |
| 1 January 2004 | 1,045 | 56.5 | |
| 31 January 2003 | 922 | 44.7 | |
| 2 February 2002 | 817 | 36.6 | |
Partnerships
Wilkinson products are also supplied to ManxManx
Manx is an adjective describing things or people related to the Isle of Man:* Manx people**Manx surnames* Isle of ManIt may also refer to:-Languages:...
retailer Shoprite (Isle of Man)
Shoprite (Isle of Man)
Shoprite Ltd. is a supermarket chain currently trading in the Isle of Man. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Isle of Man Enterprises plc . The company shares are traded on the PLUS Stock Exchange though will be delisted from 3rd January 2012...
.
Charity Partnerships
The current charity partner is Age UK. This charity partnership began in May 2011 and will last until May 2012. Previous charity partnerships include Anthony NolanAnthony Nolan
Anthony Nolan is a UK charity that focuses on leukaemia and Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It manages and recruits donors to one of the two bone marrow registers in the United Kingdom; the other register is the British Bone Marrow Registry run by the National Blood Service...
(May 2010-May 2011) and Children's Hospice UK (May 2009-May 2010).