All Wilkos gone

Redwurzel said:
Is Wilkos a bigger collapse than Woolies in 2008/9?

Wilkos certainly had a strong brand up till recently. The stores were well laid laid out, well it, more pleasant than going the the Range, or Poundland or B&M or Home Bargains. I guess Wilko was paying higher rents.

If I bought weedkiller online it must cost the supplier nearly £5 to get it to me. If I go into Town I can go to several shops buy 5 or 6 items that I can check in person and it costs £3 in fuel and parking say if you live 3 miles out and park for £1. Some with bus passes can do it for free. Something does not add up. I suspect business rates are acting as a tax on the high street and landlords have not reduced rents to reflects reduced demand for high street properties. OK there time saved having it deliveried, as long as the item deliveried is OK and your spare time is worth say £20/hour.
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No.

I worked for Woolworths from 2005 to when our store shut in late 2008 and the writing had been on the wall internally for some time, but the general public had no idea and it was big news when it came out as it seemed to come from nowhere.

It was the massive expansion down South with stores that simply weren't profitable and rents being obscene (particularly in London, ouch) and the fact that Woolworths didn't own many of its stores, ours was rented and when the company sold its York store to Boots we knew there were issues.

Amusingly Woolworths owned EUK which led to the collapse of Virgin Megastores/Zavvi and the likes of smaller retailers like Music Zone etc. as they were those stores main suppliers.

Always amused me when we got spies in price checking us. Ah, entertainment retail back in the 2000s was a cutthroat business.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
I've got a shed full of crap from Wilko's, Yorkshire Trading and Boyes Stores that I really, really needed and have never used. ;)

It is a sad day for the High Street but we are all to blame due to the way we now shop. I wanted some weed killer for the path and have ordered it from Amazon. :oops:
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Cant really blame people for changing their shopping habits. It's quicker, more convenient and easier to find what you are looking for online.

Amazon is still a huge UK employer through their warehouses and delivery networks.
 
B_G said:
Cant really blame people for changing their shopping habits. It's quicker, more convenient and easier to find what you are looking for online.

Amazon is still a huge UK employer through their warehouses and delivery networks.
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Yep, the high street was always going to lose out to online.

It's not even about the price particularly, the benefit online is that you just type in or say what you want/need and there it is. It is pretty amazing really.

No wasted trips spending time in traffic and trudging about looking for something.

I still buy some clothes and shoes in person but even with those, once I know my size in a particular brand then it's easier to get it online.

It is bad news for all those working in face to face retail and i hope they manage to find other work.
 
If anyone does still work in retail they should seriously consider finding a new vocation. Plenty of access to courses now to learn new skills and enter a new trade, physical retail is dying a death. My wife has finally left retail in order to become a teaching assistant and she couldn't be happier, working in retail was really damaging for her mental health.
 
Town centres dying doesn't just have an affect on the shops though, there's a knock on effect less people using public transport, less people in bars and cafes, banks closing at an alarming rate too

At one point high streets were full of betting and charity shops. Who actually goes into a betting shop now to place a bet? They survive off the machines. I couldn't even tell you the last time I put a bet on without using my mobile

Teesside Park killed Middlesbrough, Stockton and Thornaby High Street but you can hardly blame Teesside Park for Darlington or Durham centres demise can you?

I know Newcastle is a city but i got a shock at the amount of people still wondering around Northumberland Street after 7pm on a midweek evening a couple of weeks ago where many of the shops were still open
 
Colgates_shaving_foam said:
Yep, the high street was always going to lose out to online.

It's not even about the price particularly, the benefit online is that you just type in or say what you want/need and there it is. It is pretty amazing really.

No wasted trips spending time in traffic and trudging about looking for something.

I still buy some clothes and shoes in person but even with those, once I know my size in a particular brand then it's easier to get it online.

It is bad news for all those working in face to face retail and i hope they manage to find other work.
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Yesterday was a prime example, I went on Boots online to look for a water flosser and could see one similar to what I wanted but there was only one picture. I checked to see if the item was available and it was and they had one at the Skipper's Lane Retail Park. I went on Amazon and the one I wanted was there showing several pictures and what was included. I chose that one and it is getting delivered today. I hadn't moved out of the house and it was slightly cheaper than the Boots version.

Boots will be one of the next shops to struggle, I went to the Middlesbrough branch at Christmas and it was empty compared to previous years. The majority of shopping is completed online.
 
Davey_C said:
Who actually goes into a betting shop now to place a bet? They survive off the machines. I couldn't even tell you the last time I put a bet on without using my mobile
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I do for the Grand National. I get the easy slips and take a handful home for my dad and wife and will put a daft bet on for the three of us.

I have an online account with Ladbroke's that I use for a bet on the Master's golf but I'm talking about a very small bet for interest and I think I used it when we had the Cheltenham competition on here. Other than that, it lies idol.
 
Davey_C said:
Town centres dying doesn't just have an affect on the shops though, there's a knock on effect less people using public transport, less people in bars and cafes, banks closing at an alarming rate too

At one point high streets were full of betting and charity shops. Who actually goes into a betting shop now to place a bet? They survive off the machines. I couldn't even tell you the last time I put a bet on without using my mobile

Teesside Park killed Middlesbrough, Stockton and Thornaby High Street but you can hardly blame Teesside Park for Darlington or Durham centres demise can you?

I know Newcastle is a city but i got a shock at the amount of people still wondering around Northumberland Street after 7pm on a midweek evening a couple of weeks ago where many of the shops were still open
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That's up to the council to find new ways to get people into town centres though. Move away from retail and attract leisure, hospitality etc. Get the office space back in usable condition.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
Yesterday was a prime example, I went on Boots online to look for a water flosser and could see one similar to what I wanted but there was only one picture. I checked to see if the item was available and it was and they had one at the Skipper's Lane Retail Park. I went on Amazon and the one I wanted was there showing several pictures and what was included. I chose that one and it is getting delivered today. I hadn't moved out of the house and it was slightly cheaper than the Boots version.

Boots will be one of the next shops to struggle, I went to the Middlesbrough branch at Christmas and it was empty compared to previous years. The majority of shopping is completed online.
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Boots makes a lot of money from prescriptions and had a pretty good online presence too
 
Norman_Conquest said:
Boots will be one of the next shops to struggle, I went to the Middlesbrough branch at Christmas and it was empty compared to previous years. The majority of shopping is completed online.
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Also helps if they can spell the name of the town they are open in correctly. The Tesco Express on Parly Road has it spelt wrong too and has done for several years

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Davey_C said:
Town centres dying doesn't just have an affect on the shops though, there's a knock on effect less people using public transport, less people in bars and cafes, banks closing at an alarming rate too

At one point high streets were full of betting and charity shops. Who actually goes into a betting shop now to place a bet? They survive off the machines. I couldn't even tell you the last time I put a bet on without using my mobile

Teesside Park killed Middlesbrough, Stockton and Thornaby High Street but you can hardly blame Teesside Park for Darlington or Durham centres demise can you?

I know Newcastle is a city but i got a shock at the amount of people still wondering around Northumberland Street after 7pm on a midweek evening a couple of weeks ago where many of the shops were still open
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Bank branches have the same issue as physical retail in that it is much easier to to most of it online.

I think most town centres will have to convert to residential spaces with a bar/restaurant/leisure area over the medium term.

There will then just be regional centres where people go for a retail 'experience'.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
Boots do have a good online presence but we are talking about a physical presence on the high street. I could see them closing branches in quieter areas and concentrating on online shopping, it must also save them a fortune in rates and wages.
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I am fairly sure that I have read in the last few weeks that Boots are closing some of their branches where they have a few within a short distance of each other.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
Yesterday was a prime example, I went on Boots online to look for a water flosser and could see one similar to what I wanted but there was only one picture. I checked to see if the item was available and it was and they had one at the Skipper's Lane Retail Park. I went on Amazon and the one I wanted was there showing several pictures and what was included. I chose that one and it is getting delivered today. I hadn't moved out of the house and it was slightly cheaper
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I do this pretty much all the Time even for cans of pop etc. Basically no need to go out these days. The only thing I go out to shop for is food shopping.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
Boots do have a good online presence but we are talking about a physical presence on the high street. I could see them closing branches in quieter areas and concentrating on online shopping, it must also save them a fortune in rates and wages.
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They're already closing quite a few but I think they will keep most open. It's not just the pharmacy section which makes money in the nhs, they've got a business side and hospital contracts, and a lot of that is fulfilled with the branches.

Boots sells a lot of tat but the pharmacy makes good money and they have opticians & contact lens and hearing services which all make good money in branches and enjoy strong Christmas trading with their annual promotion, and their makeup and fragrance sections are popular still.

They'll close quiet stores - they closed 200 in 2019 and are closing another 300 now, but I don't think they'll be in trouble in a hurry.
 
Hang on. How can dividends be paid with pensions owing? I thought dividends could only be paid on profit.
Surely that is fraud??
 
Whilst it’s sad for the employees and I wish them all luck finding work, I can’t say I’ll miss Wilkos much. Probably haven’t been in one for ten years.
 
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