Wilko survived 93 years on the high street — and missed every reason to change

JK Wilkinson opened his first shop in Leicester in 1930, and for ninety years the family chain — rebranded Wilko in 2012 — sold Britain the small stuff: stationery, garden tools, pick 'n' mix, cleaning supplies. When Woolworths collapsed in 2008, Wilko was the retailer that filled the gap, growing to 408 stores and 12,500 staff. It filled the gap so well that it stopped noticing the ground moving under the high street.

The rivals that killed it were not new: Poundland, B&M, Home Bargains and The Range all sold similar goods cheaper, mostly from out-of-town retail parks where post-pandemic shoppers now went. Wilko's sales fell below rivals it had once outearned. Then the supplier finance broke: a credit insurer withdrew trade cover, suppliers paused deliveries, and customers started noticing empty shelves — the fastest way to end a value retailer.

Wilko went into administration on 10 August 2023 with all 12,500 jobs at risk. Analysts said the owners had failed years earlier to cut the estate to the 250 stores the business could support, and had never joined up the website and the shops. B&M bought 51 stores for £13 million, Poundland took 71 leases, a rescue bid for the rest failed, and by early October every Wilko had closed. The name went with the shops.