00:00 Starting from a single hardware store in 1930, Wilkos now has hundreds of shops around the United Kingdom
00:07 and received over 2 million website visits per week.
00:11 In Bristol, there are three Wilkos stores, which are on Queen's Road, St. Philip's Causeway and Union Street.
00:19 The St. Philip's Causeway store will be the first one to close in the country, leaving the shop empty until further notice.
00:27 And bad management, unfortunately. You've got to be so careful with the way you spend your money today.
00:39 Twice as careful as before, because you have to look for every saving, every item that you can save is worth looking into.
00:51 Well, it's not a major shop for me, but my wife really likes it. So, yes, a bit of a disappointment.
00:57 I don't really know what's gone wrong. It seems odd, because outwardly it seemed successful, but I imagine it's just the expenses and city centres that's problematic.
01:06 Sad, because I do use Wilkinsons, yeah. And it's, you know, it's a cliché, isn't it, but it's sort of replaced Woolworths,
01:14 and it's a shop you can rely on, you know, if you've got an odd thing you need.
01:20 On top of the store's closures, Wilko's distribution centre operation will wind down in September,
01:26 and a further 124 shops will close between September and September 24th.
01:33 Arrival store B&M has agreed to buy 51 Wilko's buildings in a £30m deal, but it is understood the stores will not be under the Wilko brand name.
01:43 Similarly, Poundland is understood to be interested in buying up to 70 Wilko stores and rebranding them for their Poundland brand.
01:52 Let's find out what the people of Bristol would like to see added to the High Street.
01:56 Well, I like the shops that are here already. Obviously, you know, the Greengrocer's great, and I use Amplifon and the Jewellers.
02:06 I live in Shirehampton, and there aren't these things there. But it's a shame about the banks, obviously. I'm sure everybody says that.
02:15 Well, that's a tricky one. I mean, yes, Wilko is great. We're lucky in Westbury-on-Trim that we've got Marie's down at the far end that sells that similar sort of things.
02:28 But more of that sort of store is really necessary, where you can buy things at affordable prices. So I'd say that. I suppose bookshops as well. We don't have enough bookshops.
02:41 Places that I called on, but very few. One is my bank.
02:48 The future for the Bristol Wilko's buildings is still unclear, with the possibility of a Poundland takeover of some of the sites.
02:58 Only time will tell what the impact of the closure of the Bristol branches of Wilko's will be.
Comments