IT now seems that the bright red nameboards of Wilko’s will share the fate of the same coloured lettering that was above the door of Woolies until it closed in 2008.
The failure of that legendary retailing name 15 years ago was a big moment as it awoke people to the struggle that was taking place between the high street and the new out-of-town and online shopping arenas. Woolies, like Wilko, was a giant that sold everything, whereas the trend for successful high street businesses these days is for small, niche outlets while the big names are to be found out-of-town – the growing metal frames of the forthcoming retail park at Scotch Corner are already casting a shadow over town centres for miles around.
READ THE FULL STORY: ALL THE WILKO'S IN THE NORTH EAST
It falls to our councils, despite their hard pressed resources, to continue to find a way for our high streets to transform into the specialist browsing and dining experiences that seem to be the way forward. In towns like Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Northallerton, Aycliffe and Durham, Wilko will leave huge empty buildings that will do nothing for the confidence of those left around.
But for all that, while Wilko has failed, its competitors seem to be making the most of the cost-of-living crisis: B&M, The Range, Poundland, Home Bargains all appear to be doing ok in our cash-strapped times, which suggests there was something wrong with the way Wilko was being run.
Our thoughts now are with the 12,500 Wilko’s workers who are about to lose their jobs. It will be a big wrench for them, and their families, at such a difficult economic time.
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