in 'Wilkinson' branding in 2010 ,
Warwickshire. The first Wilkinson store was opened by
James Kemsey Wilkinson and his fiancee Mary Cooper at 151 Charnwood Street,
Leicester in 1930, and a second store was opened in
Wigston Magna, near Leicester, in 1932. Nine branches were opened by 1939. Wilkinson opened its first Scottish outlet in
Castle Douglas in January 2009. In 2012, Wilkinson began rebranding its stores as Wilko, after its own brand products already marketed under the
Wilko name, and by 2014, most stores had been rebranded. Prior to the rebranding, the abbreviation
Wilko had been commonly used as an informal reference to the brand. In 2014, Karin Swann sold her 50% holding in the business to Lisa, leaving Tony, his wife Christine and Lisa the sole owners of the company, and Lisa the chairman. Swann wanted to pursue other business interests and the decision did not represent a falling-out of the family. In August 2017, Wilko began negotiations with the
GMB trade union over the company's plan to cut 4,000 jobs. The board paid the family owners a £3 million dividend. In March 2018, Wilko began to sell 285 of its own brand products in
Dubai through
Ace Hardware, marking the first time that Wilko had sold through another retailer. In June 2020, Warpaint London, a cosmetics company, signed a deal with Wilko to sell their products in UK shops. In January 2022, Wilko announced the closure of 15 stores with costly long leases. Wilko paid its owners, led by the Wilkinson family, a £3 million dividend again.
Administration and closure In January 2023, Wilko confirmed it had borrowed £40 million from the restructuring firm
Hilco Capital. On 3 August 2023, Wilko announced its intention to appoint administrators as it was seeking a buyer following a period of difficult trading conditions. The company entered administration on 10 August. A deadline for offers to acquire the business was set for 16 August 2023. . Outline of the old Wilko sign remains visible on the wooden fascia. December 2023 ,
Berkshire in the process of reopening and rebranding as a branch of
Poundland in October 2023 Wilko collapsed with the loss of over 12,000 jobs, £625 million in debt and a £50 million pension deficit. During the administration process, it was reported that its owners had taken £77 million out of the company in the preceding decade. In September 2023,
B&M bought 51 Wilko stores for £13 million. An attempt by Canadian businessman
Doug Putman to acquire 100 Wilko stores, slimmed down from a deal to acquire 300 stores, collapsed in the same month.
Poundland acquired 71 Wilko stores and stated it would prioritise the recruitment of former Wilko staff. CDS Superstores (
The Range) acquired the Wilko brand, website and intellectual property for £5 million. 36 workers from Wilko's digital team transferred over to CDS' digital team as part of the deal. The Range started stocking Wilko brand products in its stores from 27 October 2023. Three stores in Plymouth, Exeter, and Luton re-opened in December 2023. Two stores in
Rotherham and
St Albans re-opened in March 2024. Wilko's store in
Poole re-opened in August 2024. The Wilko store in
Uxbridge in London re-opened in November 2024. In February 2025, CDS Superstores announced it would temporarily pause the opening of new Wilko stores to focus on converting 49
Homebase stores to The Range. In March 2026, CDS Superstores reached an agreement with Morrisons to incorpate Wilko conncessions into their stores. ==Distribution==