WILKO shoppers will soon be able to get thousands of products directly to their doors in less than 25 minutes.
The beloved discounter is continuing its resurgence after falling into administration in 2023 and shutting all its shops.
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The chain has now teamed up with courier service Deliveroo and will be delivering a range of 3,000 homeware essentials.
Available through the Deliveroo app product ranges include: garden, home, kitchen, DIY, cleaning, pet care and storage.
It means you can bag the items Wilko is most known for like dog poo bags and sachets of seeds in under 25 minutes.
The rollout is set to start with just 10 sites in the UK, before rolling out more widely.
The first 10 sites are:
- Edinburgh
- Bristol
- Nottingham
- Bournemouth
- Eccles
- Manchester
- Bedford
- Harlow
- Plymouth
- Leeds
This will be the first time Wilko has offered an on-demand, rapid delivery service.
The partnership will be expanded to a further 50 locations across the country by the end of the year.
Alex Simpkin, group chief executive officer at CDS Superstores trading as Wilko and The Range, said: “It’s great to be making Wilko so much more accessible to its loyal customer base.
“There’s a huge love for the brand and while we continue to open new stores this partnership gives us the opportunity to reach people quicker. All the great things you expect from Wilko and more in as little as 25 minutes!”
Wilko is the latest brand to sell homeware essentials on the Deliveroo app.
Eric French, Chief Operating Officer at Deliveroo, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome family favourite Wilko onto Deliveroo and to offer their huge range of household essentials for delivery in as little as 25 minutes.
“Our customers really value the convenience of having the high street brought to their doorstep, and that’s why we’re excited to continue our collaborations with well-loved retailers like Wilko as we expand ‘Deliveroo Shopping’ and add more selection for our customers.”
You can download the Deliveroo app through your phone’s app store for free.
Wilko’s return
Millions of hearts broke around the country when beloved high street staple Wilko announced it was shutting all of its shops.
The discount retailer is slowly rebuilding its presence on high streets after collapsing into administration in August 2023 and closing all of its 400 stores.
Following several failed rescue bids, fellow bargain chain The Range bought Wilko‘s name and intellectual property.
CDS Superstores, trading as The Range and Wilko, relaunched the latter’s website shortly after the sale went through and began selling classic Wilko products in the former’s stores.
Then, in late November, the retailer shocked fans by announcing that physical stores would also be making a comeback.
By December, three shops were open in Plymouth, Exeter, and Luton.
In March, a further two sites opened in St Albans and Rotherham. In August the chain welcomed its sixth store in Poole.
Wilko has confirmed that its Uxbridge store will open its doors to customers at 9am on November 22 – right in time for Christmas.
This store launch forms part of Wilko’s expansion plans, with a further national roll-out planned.
Most recently the chain also launched its first Amazon webshop on the retail giant’s site.
Shoppers can browse and shop ranges including pet essentials, cleaning products, paint, electricals, storage, homewares, and soft furnishings such as curtains and bedding.
What happened to Wilko
Here is a timeline of what happened to Wilko
- May 2021: Wilko full year pre-tax profits drop and sales decline £107m thanks to a “challenging retail landscape” in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.
- January 2022: The retailer reveals plans to close 15 stores in 2022, putting hundreds of jobs on the line.
- September 2022: Supplier payments are deferred and extended in a bid to manage cash flow. Wilko asks landlords to pay its quarterly rent bill in monthly instalments as it conserves cash to stock up for Christmas.
- October 2022: The business drafts in advisers from Teneo as it tries to find ways to cut costs.
- Credit insurers Allianz Trade and Atradius withdraws cover for the firm.
- November 2022: Wilko tries to secure an emergency £30m cash injection as cost pressures intensify in the run-up to Christmas as managing director Alison Hands departs the business. The retailer posts a £36.8m loss in the year to January 29, 2022 in ‘incredibly difficult period’.
- December 2022: The company names Bensons for Beds boss Mark Jackson as its new CEO as talks continue over a refinancing.
- January 2023: Wilko secures a £40m lifeline from Homebase and Cath Kidston owner Hilco UK and tells suppliers it will no longer stock toys across its stores, as it focuses on selling garden and household goods.
- February 2023: The business reveals plans to axe over 400 jobs as it looks to control costs and shuffles its senior leadership team
- May 2023: Wilko considers launching a CVA to cut rent costs and potentially close stores
- June 2023: The retailer hires property agent CBRE to help negotiate lower rents as PwC lined up to manage a CVA.
- July 2023: The business looks to secure fresh funding as its owners consider selling a controlling stake Hilco agrees to lend about £5m in additional funding to Wilko as it faces an intensifying cash squeeze.
- August 2023: Wilko appoints PwC as administrator, potentially putting 12,000 jobs at risk.
- September 2023: Poundland swooped in to snap up 71 Wilko stores while administrators sold up to 51 Wilko stores to rival B&M. PwC agree the sale of the retailer’s brand name and intellectual property to The Range in a £5million deal.
- October 2023: All Wilko stores close and disappear from the high street. Wilko reveals that its online shop is back. Wilko shops announced to return too.
- December 2023: First Wilko stores return in Exeter and Plymouth
What other retailers have made a comeback?
It has been a tough time for retailers since Covid and the last few years have seen many vanish from our high streets.
The rising cost of living and expensive rents have all been playing a part in the demise of some of our much-loved high street names.
This week saw the return of the beloved record chain Our Price.
The record store was once a staple of the UK high street from the early 1970s until 2004.
The first store was on London‘s Finchley Road, and the brand had as many as 300 branches at its peak, making it one of the biggest music store chains in the UK.
Last week Our Price revealed it would be making a return as music lovers will once again be able to buy thousands of vinyls and other merch.
Shoppers can browse the catalogue online for now only, owners have not ruled out the return to physical stores at some point in the future.
Toys R Us is also among those which has managed to make a comeback.
The popular toy brand opened up nine new shops in 2023 after vanishing from the high street in 2018.
However, the new stores are slightly different as they are “shop-in-shops” and are located inside WHSmith stores.
Toys R Us will be opening 30 new shops across the UK this summer following the successful opening of almost a dozen stores last year.
In October last year, Paperchase also made a return after closing all of its 134 shops and concessions earlier in the year.
Fans of the brand were devastated when the retailer disappeared from the high street in April after falling into administration.
However, supermarket giant Tesco stepped in and bought the rights to the brand and then went on to launch it in some of its stores.
A total of 261 Tesco stores now stock Paperchase products – we have the full list here.
M&Co, previously called Mackay’s, fell into administration for the second time in two years in December 2022.
Fellow retailer Yours Clothing bought the M&Co brand and intellectual property.
The retailer launched a new M&Co website in June 2023 and The Sun exclusively revealed its plans to open up physical stores starting in May 2024.
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