Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => Topic started by: Cudzoziemiec on 03 August, 2023, 12:29:48 pm
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Not the rock star, the time triallist or the rugbist, the one that's 21st century Woolworth's. Where will we get our budget disposable unwanted teetering piles of tat?
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You beat me by a minute!
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Let me guess, viable business let down by a bad case of Finance?
Either that, or the switch to galvanised gear and brake cables drove all their customers away.
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Probably. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/aug/03/budget-retailer-wilko-makes-administration-move-risking-12000-jobs
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Thievery is a big factor too, apparently. When you're on tight margins, scratters stealing anything they can sell for drugs money quickly pushes you into loss.
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The one in Darlo fitted self scan things and took them out again after a year or so, I'd guess cos of the amount of theft (there wasn't a scale or any way to check you'd scanned everything).
Luckily we still have Boyes up here, they have even more of everything than Wilko.
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I knew I shouldn't have stuffed those pick n mix screw bags so bulging full.
Wilko converted the manual tills to self-service by turning the screens to face the customer and putting the lightest veneer of friendliness on the staff PoS software, which was such an adorably bad bodge.
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No self-service tills in either of the two Wilkos in central Bristol. I don't know if that means we're considered too thieving to risk it, too low down the priority list for them to have reached us yet, too far up the food chain to be downgraded to be deprived of menial service, too thick to work the tills, or what. Though the Tesco just down the road from one has just three manned tills and about 15 self-service so I guess it's just a question of capital expenditure.
It is noticeable that the more central and larger of the two is perennially poorly stocked.
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I knew I shouldn't have stuffed those pick n mix screw bags so bulging full.
Wilko converted the manual tills to self-service by turning the screens to face the customer and putting the lightest veneer of friendliness on the staff PoS software, which was such an adorably bad bodge.
The one at Silly Oak retail park has one of these. It's a big event when someone wanders in and wants to buy something, as the staff get the excitement of helping them use it.
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the owners of Wilko, led by the Wilkinson family, took £3m in dividends in the 12 months to the end of February 2022.
So, the business was making a loss, but they could strip out millions?
When does business accounting become fraud?
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Mrs W used to work for Wilko but took redundancy (along with many other affected employees) when management started to run it down about 5 years ago.
There has been a systematic mismanagement of the stores for years, skimming off at the top, while not getting restock of products that sold well. It was clearly a decision taken, ages ago to take the money and run, as discreetly as possible.
When Mrs W first worked there, staff were looked after and it was a booming business. ‘Young Mr Wilkinson’ regularly visited the stores, and ran competitions between stores for quality of presentation and customer service (with prize money towards staff parties that he often put money towards too). The change came after daughters and team took over.
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I thought I'd heard it was a decent place to work. Probably not now though.
the owners of Wilko, led by the Wilkinson family, took £3m in dividends in the 12 months to the end of February 2022.
So, the business was making a loss, but they could strip out millions?
When does business accounting become fraud?
I suppose it's not actual fraud until a law is broken. But it is greed. Either short-sightedly or, as per Wobbly John's post, deliberate mismanagement.
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Wilko converted the manual tills to self-service by turning the screens to face the customer and putting the lightest veneer of friendliness on the staff PoS software, which was such an adorably bad bodge.
I recall my first time through thinking, gosh this UI looks uninviting before I made the same jump you did.
After all, if you are being your own checkout person why not use their UI, saves a ton of cash.
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Mrs W used to work for Wilko but took redundancy (along with many other affected employees) when management started to run it down about 5 years ago.
There has been a systematic mismanagement of the stores for years, skimming off at the top, while not getting restock of products that sold well. It was clearly a decision taken, ages ago to take the money and run, as discreetly as possible.
When Mrs W first worked there, staff were looked after and it was a booming business. ‘Young Mr Wilkinson’ regularly visited the stores, and ran competitions between stores for quality of presentation and customer service (with prize money towards staff parties that he often put money towards too). The change came after daughters and team took over.
Idiot grandchild syndrome?
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I used to visit Wilko in Carmarthen fairly regularly, but I'm struggling to think of anything I bought there other than dog food1 and wild bird seed.2
1 I now buy dog food on line for the bulk buy discounts and the somebody else having to carry it.
2 I stopped buying bird seed when I realised it was actually rat seed.
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Don't suppose interest rates are easy for those companies who've had to borrow heavily. Heyfordian buses around here just gone bust "We just faced too many headwinds with inflation, rising costs, driver shortages and having massive interest charges on our bounce back loans that it has become impossible to continue." OxfM
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For my bike shop, I've been buying at auction various bike related things as a result of the distributors Moore Large going bust back in March.
A consignment of 150 26" inner tubes (which ended up being far cheaper than I can get from other distributors) turns out to be Wilko branded ones. So Moore Large had been supplying inner tubes to Wilkos.
Funny old world.
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Churning debt while the owners continue to receive dividends probably says all that is need to know.
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I shall miss it, there's nowhere else locally with the same range of household stuff I buy there, vacuum bags, cleaning stuff, kitchen bits... their own brand paint is reasonable quality too.
Where else are people buying this stuff? I'm sure some of it'll be in the bigger supermarkets, I doubt I could take my typical wilco list and find it all in one place.
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B&M sell much of the same stuff but they're all out of town and it tends to be utter tat, and not even cheap. Best to use Screwfix for DIY stuff.
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B&M sell much of the same stuff but they're all out of town and it tends to be utter tat, and not even cheap. Best to use Screwfix for DIY stuff.
In my experience, it's Wilko that are out of town - I rarely visit these days for that reason, as they tend to be on the kind of vast shopping parks that are neither pedestrian nor cyclist friendly. I do remember Chester having a nice centrally-located one years ago, but alas, have never found anything similar in the >20 years since I left that part of the world.
B&M is ok for some things (it has a bewildering array of cleaning stuff, if you're into that sort of thing), but also has a lot of tat. The one closest to me doesn't have any paint, or any real DIY stuff, either. The big versions with a decent range, like Wilko, tend to be out of town.
I miss Barnitts in York, which sells everything and is actually in town, though it's not particularly cheap.
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There was one a couple of doors down from the Gulag in central Bury St Edmunds.
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B&M sell much of the same stuff but they're all out of town and it tends to be utter tat, and not even cheap. Best to use Screwfix for DIY stuff.
ditto Screwfix - or son of Screwfix, Toolstation (prices often cheaper but fewer in-store stock items so "next day collection"
B&M here in SuA (morphed in the same building from Texas to Homebase to B&M) is great for paints and brushes . . . good enough and cheap enough for single use if oil-based paint or varnish is used as brush is cheaper than the white spirit you'd use to clean it. Food is also pretty comprehensive and appears competively priced.
The "plastic crap toys and stuff" aisles are frightening at Christmas . . :hand:
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There was one a couple of doors down from the Gulag in central Bury St Edmunds.
Mrs W and I had business premises on the same street as the BSE Wilko. It was very convenient for printer paper and other consumables (eg chocolate for us & food for the visiting moggie). We haven't been there for a couple of years but even then I noticed empty shelves here and there so there were definitely problems. It's a shame as the staff were really friendly and helpful.
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We use Wilko for personal hygiene products, cleaning products and the odd bit of home and garden or DIY stuff. I'm planning a bulk raid or two if they're going under as some things we can only get there in Rugby town centre.
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Wilko were great to drop into to get something so I could then feed my habit of cheap sweets.
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I've never been in a Wilkos.
I don't think I've ever seen one.
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My nearest Wilko is in Wood Green shopping centre, which was possibly once a gleaming retail paradise but each shop has been progressively replaced with its Vimes Boots theory-proving low cost (but not even cheap) alternative and the whole place is like digging through your spam folder and worrying about the people that fall for this shit.
Funnily enough Wilko always seemed like somewhere that a decent variety of reasonable functional stuff without getting super price gougey. Which is no way to run a business.
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I've never been in The Range.
I did go in a B&M once, just out of curiousity; no headlights, disappointingly.
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The only B & M I've ever heard of is Busch & Muller - which I presume is what Cudzo was referring to.
I can't recall ever visiting Wilkinson's. I think there's one somewhere near Southend high street.
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B&M York burnt down before COVID as did Burger King not far away.
The Range in York hasn’t burnt down and had toilet rolls during COVID. That’s all I know.
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The only B & M I've ever heard of is Busch & Muller - which I presume is what Cudzo was referring to.
I can't recall ever visiting Wilkinson's. I think there's one somewhere near Southend high street.
B&M is a sort of amalgam of furniture and home-tat with DIY. Maybe a bit like Ikea crossed with B&Q, but not as big as Ikea, and tattier. At least judging by the short time I spent in one.
But yes, to me it only meant Busch & Muller for many years; I think I only became aware of the chain of shops a few years ago. You've missed nothing.
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B&M sell much of the same stuff but they're all out of town and it tends to be utter tat, and not even cheap. Best to use Screwfix for DIY stuff.
ditto Screwfix - or son of Screwfix, Toolstation (prices often cheaper but fewer in-store stock items so "next day collection"
Toolstation in these parts has the disadvantage of being on the wrong side of the A406 so whichever route you choose to cycle there requires a lengthy detour to cross the six lanes of smelly traffic. On the other hand, Screwfix has no bike parking chiz.
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I've been in a B&M once. Only because they offer free parking for customers. Paranoid I might get clamped, I went in, walked around a bit so at least I'd be on their CCTV as a "customer", then pissed off elsewhere....
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I've never been in a Wilkos.
I don't think I've ever seen one.
+1
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B&M sell much of the same stuff but they're all out of town and it tends to be utter tat, and not even cheap. Best to use Screwfix for DIY stuff.
ditto Screwfix - or son of Screwfix, Toolstation (prices often cheaper but fewer in-store stock items so "next day collection"
Toolstation in these parts has the disadvantage of being on the wrong side of the A406 so whichever route you choose to cycle there requires a lengthy detour to cross the six lanes of smelly traffic. On the other hand, Screwfix has no bike parking chiz.
Out of curiosity, having worked just off Higham Hill Road back in the 1970s, I had a "Google Streetview drive round" the area and down to the Billet and around - I knew the facade of the Stow had been retained but was surprised to see the Tote board still standing (the track was a very big site with both dog racing and for a while stock car racing)
My memory is fading . . . do you know what the pub at the end of Brettenham Road used to be called (that was the after work drinking hole)? IIRC it was an Ind Coope pub.
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My memory is fading . . . do you know what the pub at the end of Brettenham Road used to be called (that was the after work drinking hole)? IIRC it was an Ind Coope pub.
Not a scooby. Don’t often go down that way. Also I've only been here since 1996 ;D
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Popped into my local branch today, can't remember what for but they didn't have it. Ended up walking out with 10quids worth of seeds for 3 quid
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Wilko was welcome as a replacement for Woolworths, selling useful bits and pieces. Their stock control got very bad even before the pandemic. Now we've lost Wickes and Halfords from Uxbridge (to make way for a retirement block) there are no useful shops left other than a Decathlon. Screwfix is theoretically a bike ride distant, but as noted above has no cycle parking facilities, likewise Toolstation, and both are a fair way off any bus route.
I now mostly buy bits and pieces from eBay, being careful to avoid Chinese suppliers with their long delivery times.
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You can just take your bike into Screwfix or Toolstation. No one's ever said a word and I've seen plenty of other people do it.
B&M sells very little that isn't low-quality straight-to-landfill tat, like the worst imaginable version of a poundshop.
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There’s scarcely room for more than two customers in my local Screwfix, never mind a Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle :P
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There’s scarcely room for more than two customers in my local Screwfix, never mind a Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle :P
Might I recommend Tool Station on Blackhorse Lane?
They are cool with bicycles.
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B&M sells very little that isn't low-quality straight-to-landfill tat, like the worst imaginable version of a poundshop.
I came across1 Terry's Chocolate Oranges for 50p last year. I purchased a severalness.
1Almost literally.
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There’s scarcely room for more than two customers in my local Screwfix, never mind a Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle :P
Might I recommend Tool Station on Blackhorse Lane?
They are cool with bicycles.
Oooh, ta! Didn’t know there’s one there - the one I've used before is bloody miles away.
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There’s scarcely room for more than two customers in my local Screwfix, never mind a Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle :P
Well, if you were fixing a screw, you would need at least the space for two people.
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My nearest Wilko is in Wood Green shopping centre, which was possibly once a gleaming retail paradise but each shop has been progressively replaced with its Vimes Boots theory-proving low cost (but not even cheap) alternative and the whole place is like digging through your spam folder and worrying about the people that fall for this shit.
Funnily enough Wilko always seemed like somewhere that a decent variety of reasonable functional stuff without getting super price gougey. Which is no way to run a business.
We had the same store, good for cheap panetone, toilet paper (when on offer) baby wipes and cheap knock off lego by the cup.
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You can just take your bike into Screwfix or Toolstation. No one's ever said a word and I've seen plenty of other people do it.
B&M sells very little that isn't low-quality straight-to-landfill tat, like the worst imaginable version of a poundshop.
Dodgy booze and cat litter....
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My nearest Tool Station is an ex-petrol station, retaining the canopy, so I just lean the bike against the plate glass window. Screwfix however is a nordinary shoppe in a street otherwise full of bars, coffee shoppes and restos, but there is plenty of decent bike parking on the street. In fact they're at different ends of the same street, but it's a long street which changes character from one end to the other. Come to think of it, if you carry on beyond Tool Station, you come to one of the Wilkos, but by that time the street has changed name.
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This market town has a Screwfix and a Toolstation in close proximity to each other, separated only by a foul-smelling Greggs. Fortunately they're out on the industrial estate, so out of sight unless needed. I have no idea where the nearest Wilko might be. The only one I have ever visited is (possibly was by now) in Ealing.
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So far it would appear that 14 Wilko stores have been confirmed for imminent closure
The Fort Birmingham, Bournemouth, Shipley ,Stockton ,Scunthorpe, Narborough Road in Leicester, Rotherham, Skegness, Grantham, Merthyr Tydfil, Cleethorpes, Woolwich, Redditch,Llanelli
I'm glad to see my local one is not on this list. It is my go-to store for DIY bits and pieces (now that Wickes has become an Aldi) and I've bought a lot of paint there over the years. I recently had an urgent need for a basin wrench and the didn't let me down.
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Apparently we of E17 have a Wilko in the High Street. Plus there’s one just down the road at Tottenham Hale but going there means going west of the river, which we try to avoid except on the M25.
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It is my go-to store for DIY bits and pieces
They are great when you just need that "thing" but generally the "thing" is made of soft cheese. Their screw heads round as soon as they see a Philips head screwdriver.
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Their screw heads round as soon as they see a Philips head screwdriver.
Could it be that they're Pozidriv? ;D
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Think I'll mooch on down to Wilko this afternoon to see what they have left of stuffs that we normally buy there.
Need my walk so why not?
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This thread is useless without Canadian Tire. It's basically Wilkos with added tires(sic) and hockey tape. Maybe if we asked them nicely they could take over?
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This thread is useless without Canadian Tire. It's basically Wilkos with added tires(sic) and hockey tape. Maybe if we asked them nicely they could take over, eh?
FTFY
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66460059 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66460059) Into administration. I was in the Huyton shop yesterday. :-(
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Boo.
Had these on the go for a few years... along with other random stuff, from anti-slip matting, to picture frames, & plant food.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53106747105_e87713f161.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oURXGM)Wilko-lube (https://flic.kr/p/2oURXGM) by a oxon (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145942400@N06/), on Flickr
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How is it possible for the directors to pay themselves a reported £3m in dividends last year if the financial forecasts were so dire?
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I think £3m was the total dividend payout, don't know how much of that went to directors. But even if it were only a small fraction (which I doubt), the same question applies. I suppose the answer is that's how "a shareholding democracy" works!
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Quick ! Stock up on sellotape. And shower gel.
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How is it possible for the directors to pay themselves a reported £3m in dividends last year if the financial forecasts were so dire?
You really expect the bosses of a (potentailly) failing company to forego pay? Why on earth should they - unless all staff volunteered to work for less / nothing of course. And who's to say £3million wasn't a significant drop from previoius payments?
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How is it possible for the directors to pay themselves a reported £3m in dividends last year if the financial forecasts were so dire?
It seems the way of all businesses (well, BRITISH ones anyway). I expect what will happen next is that Wilko will be bought, since debt has value to some, and re-emerge as a new company (but with a slightly different name) and none of its former suppliers or staff will be paid >:(.
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How is it possible for the directors to pay themselves a reported £3m in dividends last year if the financial forecasts were so dire?
You really expect the bosses of a (potentailly) failing company to forego pay?
Dividends are not pay, the bosses would have been as entitled to payment for work done as any other employee. Dividends are paid to the owners, shareholders, which in this case seems to be the Wilkinson family. It's reasonable to ask why the directors considered a dividend appropriate, it was being asked months ago:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/nov/29/wilko-owners-dividends-losses-emergency-funding-sales#:
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Quick look round my flat, flippin heck it's full of Wilko! Washing up bowl, bucket, crockery, pots and pans, wooden spoons, food containers, bin, dustpan and brushes, mop, storage boxes, coat hangers, bathroom mirror, bog brush, shower head, shower curtain, printer paper, notebooks, pens and crayons, scissors, extension leads,
cuddly toy ... And that's before I open the cupboards with cleaning stuff in.
None of it is what I'd consider to be the highest quality, but neither is it tat, a lot of it was bought over ten years ago.
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They were a good replacement for when Woolworths went under. Nowhere left in the High Street for useful stuff.
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Quick look round my flat, flippin heck it's full of Wilko! Washing up bowl, bucket, crockery, pots and pans, wooden spoons, food containers, bin, dustpan and brushes, mop, storage boxes, coat hangers, bathroom mirror, bog brush, shower head, shower curtain, printer paper, notebooks, pens and crayons, scissors, extension leads, cuddly toy ... And that's before I open the cupboards with cleaning stuff in.
None of it is what I'd consider to be the highest quality, but neither is it tat, a lot of it was bought over ten years ago.
Fair summary. It's middling at best in design and manufacture but it works and it's usable, and it lasts,
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No1Daughter went in for a large wetsuit washing bucket and some superglue.
This was (checks) 23rd July.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230810/5a81c80cd72d0e2f567d154fdd3b5b59.jpg)
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If you like gardening they had a 2 for 1 offer on Johnsons seeds. But yes, the shelves are a bit bare.
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TV's Anja Popp was live on C4 News this evening outside my local Wilko which, she informed us, used to be occupied by a branch of Woolies.
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Never been to one, though I may have contributed to Woolies’ demise through the volume of pick and mix we nicked as a teenagers.
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I went in our Wilkos today to get some spring onion seeds.
One side of the gardening section is now Hallowe’en… :o :o :o :facepalm: :facepalm:
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Ob:YACF
I bought a set of stainless steel biscuit/$BROWN_DRINK tins from Wilko's sometime shortly after the last ice age, following a post from The Blessed Charlotte about making your own wood gassification stove.
Naturally I never got round to making it and have mislaid part of the set.
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Wilko's has proven to be a very good source of many basic household staples. If it closes in Rugby there will be quite a vacuum not currently catered for with the remaining retailers.
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Ob:YACF
I bought a set of stainless steel biscuit/$BROWN_DRINK tins from Wilko's sometime shortly after the last ice age, following a post from The Blessed Charlotte about making your own wood gassification stove.
Naturally I never got round to making it and have mislaid part of the set.
AOL.
Actually, since at some point between the ice age and now I've acquired a drill press, it might be worth revisiting...
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'parently 'Wilko owners took £77m out of business in last decade'
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2023/08/wilko-owners-77m/
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Ob:YACF
I bought a set of stainless steel biscuit/$BROWN_DRINK tins from Wilko's sometime shortly after the last ice age, following a post from The Blessed Charlotte about making your own wood gassification stove.
Naturally I never got round to making it and have mislaid part of the set.
AOL.
Actually, since at some point between the ice age and now I've acquired a drill press, it might be worth revisiting...
Actually, the gassifying twig stoves you can buy for about £10 on ebay are better in many ways - weight, size folded, reliability, etc.
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'parently 'Wilko owners took £77m out of business in last decade'
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2023/08/wilko-owners-77m/
Lisa Wilkinson had an office at the store where my wife worked, and there are connections to my employ too, so we have experience of the current management and where the money was going…
Unfortunately some of my wife’s pension is tied up in the company’s scheme. :-\ :-\
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The Grauniad has been writing about USA tip culture – apparently tips are even asked for at some self-checkouts now! https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/16/tipping-culture-in-the-us-is-out-of-control-were-even-asked-to-tip-self-checkouts
Nobody's ever asked for a tip at Wilko's but one thing I don't like is that, at least when paying by card, a screen pops up asking if you'd like to add a small amount for charity. Press the red button for no, the green button for yes. What annoys me about this is that the particular charity is never named. Nor do I feel confident that all of my donation would go to whatever charity it is. TBF this is not a Wilko-specific complaint, I've encountered exactly the same system, with the same opacity, at eg Blacks. It is probably well intentioned but it doesn't help credibility. Tesco has or used to have a similar but far more transparent and therefore credible system, where you were asked if you would like to round up your bill to the nearest whole £ for a named charity. Off the top of my head I remember a local foodbank and something for Ukrainian refugees being the named charities.
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I think we should staunchly eschew both. If I want to give money to charity, I'll do so in a way that doesn't help $Megacorp with their tax bill (which is ultimately what these donation things are about).
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Screwfix do the “would you like to round this up to a whole number of quids” thing. Which I did when buying something or other the other day as it amounted to a massive 1p.
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I think I have three objections to tipping.
From the staff point of view:
1. Your wages should not depend on having a pretty face, etc.
From the customer point of view:
2. As with charity donations at tills, the employer is using the customer to both justify a low wage and avoid payroll taxes.
3. The price for a given item or service should be the same regardless of whoever is buying it, not dependent on the customer's generosity, gullibility or sense of guilt.
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Oh, someone called Paulo777 has made the following comment on the above tipping article:
In the UK the chip and pin machines often invite you to make a donation to a charity (garages in paticular but I think I was asked last time to a major cinema chain). Do they do this in the states? To the existing categories of Chugger (Charity Mugger - those guys who accost you when your shopping), Churglers (Charity Burglers - the ones who go door to door) it seems to add a third category Chippers (Charity Tipping).
Chugger is a well established term, I haven't heard churgler or chipper before. Not sure I particularly want to hear them again TBH!
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There was one a couple of doors down from the Gulag in central Bury St Edmunds.
was still there in March; needed it for some inner tubes on a DIY200. Hard to find tho nowhere near the expensive shops.
in my home town we have no B & M, Wilko is probably the only cheap store. Tend to use it for bunny food toiletries tools and lots of fairy lights all of which could be got online if CBA
Can't believe all the different lampshades etc they sell they are awful. Will be sad to see it go though. Best bargain is the pick / n / mix bag of nuts screws washers and Rawlplugs probably got a lifetime supply now...
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Black's ( or the Horsham one at least) has a sign by the till explaining which charity it is. I can't remember which one, but I have a vague memory it's related to under privileged women ( sadly there are too many sub groups of under privileged women).
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Good to know I am not alone in my dislike of shops soliciting charity donations. I have stuck stuff in the food bank collection: tea, coffee usually.
Today I was cutting a bit of wood and noticed the square I used had ‘Wilko’ on it. I couldn’t remember buying the thing, but it’s an ok item.
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From the Beeb:
There is speculation that rival discounters such as B&M and Poundland could be among possible buyers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66543380
I imagine many larger towns already have one or other of the above in addition to a Wilko (here we have all 3), so it doesn't look good for staff.
There was one a couple of doors down from the Gulag in central Bury St Edmunds.
was still there in March; needed it for some inner tubes on a DIY200. Hard to find tho nowhere near the expensive shops.
in my home town we have no B & M, Wilko is probably the only cheap store. Tend to use it for bunny food toiletries tools and lots of fairy lights all of which could be got online if CBA
Can't believe all the different lampshades etc they sell they are awful. Will be sad to see it go though. Best bargain is the pick / n / mix bag of nuts screws washers and Rawlplugs probably got a lifetime supply now...
The BSE branch is pretty decent and we've used it for basic DIY supplies, bird seed, cat food etc. All of those items can be bought easily elsewhere in the town, however, although Wilko is within walking distance for many.
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From the Beeb:
There is speculation that rival discounters such as B&M and Poundland could be among possible buyers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66543380
I imagine many larger towns already have one or other of the above in addition to a Wilko (here we have all 3), so it doesn't look good for staff.
Walthamstow High Street being the length it is there are three or four Poundlands on it. Some of which I've actually bought Stuffs from, unlike the Wilko on the same street.
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I think we should staunchly eschew both. If I want to give money to charity, I'll do so in a way that doesn't help $Megacorp with their tax bill (which is ultimately what these donation things are about).
I don't see how it helps with their tax bill, they collect £x, pay £x to the charity, profits and therefore tax bill unchanged. They can reduce their tax by giving some profits to charity, but that's a strategy that leaves them with less money, not more.
I imagine it looks good on the annual report "we raised £x for charity last year" and quite likely improves their ESG score, which is pretty important these days.
I think I have three objections to tipping.
From the staff point of view:
1. Your wages should not depend on having a pretty face, etc.
From the customer point of view:
2. As with charity donations at tills, the employer is using the customer to both justify a low wage and avoid payroll taxes.
3. The price for a given item or service should be the same regardless of whoever is buying it, not dependent on the customer's generosity, gullibility or sense of guilt.
On (2), tips have to go through the payroll nowadays. If a restaurant claims not to receive tips, HMRC will adjust the taxes on the assumption that they receive an "average" amount of tips. Barbers and Minicabs may get away with more, but they are normally self-employed.
For (1) and (3) I totally agree, plus the low wage thing. The price should be the price, and the wage should be the rate for the job. In the US the price is basically what it says +20% and you can express your disgust of poor service by leaving 18%. Failing to tip can get you barred from leaving or chased down the street.
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I think we should staunchly eschew both. If I want to give money to charity, I'll do so in a way that doesn't help $Megacorp with their tax bill (which is ultimately what these donation things are about).
I don't see how it helps with their tax bill, they collect £x, pay £x to the charity, profits and therefore tax bill unchanged. They can reduce their tax by giving some profits to charity, but that's a strategy that leaves them with less money, not more.
I imagine it looks good on the annual report "we raised £x for charity last year" and quite likely improves their ESG score, which is pretty important these days.
Or it means they can do something creative with the card processing fees...
J
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Mrs WJ has received a Wilko pension ‘don’t panic’ letter.,.
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I understand B&M are taking over 51 Wilko stores costing them £13M…
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I understand B&M are taking over 51 Wilko stores costing them £13M…
Unfortunately it's just the sites, staff aren't included. Pleas have been made for B&M to offer jobs to the ex-Wilko staff before recruiting other people, but whether or not that will happen...
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I wonder if this list of store closures is true? (Just did a quick google search)
Which Wilko stores are due to close?
Acton, Aldershot, Barking, Bishop Auckland, Bletchley FF, Brownhills, Camberley, Cardiff Bay Retail Park, Falmouth, Harpurhey, Irvine, Liverpool Edge Lane, Llandudno, Lowestoft, Morley, Nelson, Port Talbot, Putney, Stafford, Tunbridge Wells, Wakefield, Weston-super-Mare, Westwood Cross, Winsford.7 hours ago
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I wonder if this list of store closures is true? (Just did a quick google search)
Which Wilko stores are due to close?
Acton, Aldershot, Barking, Bishop Auckland, Bletchley FF, Brownhills, Camberley, Cardiff Bay Retail Park, Falmouth, Harpurhey, Irvine, Liverpool Edge Lane, Llandudno, Lowestoft, Morley, Nelson, Port Talbot, Putney, Stafford, Tunbridge Wells, Wakefield, Weston-super-Mare, Westwood Cross, Winsford.7 hours ago
Those are the ones closing on the 12th, there's a further tranche of store closures on the 14th:
Ashford
Avonmeads
Banbury
Barrow in Furness
Basildon, Belle Vale
Burnley
Clydebank
Cortonwood
Dagenham
Dewsbury
Eccles
Folkestone
Great Yarmouth
Hammersmith
Huddersfield
Morriston
New Malden
North Shields
Queen Street Cardiff
Rhyl
Southampton-West Quay
St Austell
Stockport
Truro
Uttoxeter
Walsall
Woking
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66728619
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Looks like it's The End for Wilko as no rescue deals have come forward: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66743050
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It's a shame. They stepped into the gap left by Woolworths, but maybe that gap no longer exists (or at least is not attractive enough to fill)?
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Expensive sites, low margins, probably already more competition than there are customers, plus the internet makes getting stuff delivered to your door quick and simple.
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I go pass one on my commute, actually I go past the retail park where it's located. That particular store used to be in a town centre but it got closed down and they opened a new store a few miles down the road "out of town".
A few days after the news of Wilko going bankrupt, I popped in and had a look, hoping to get some grease or Autosol, both out of stock.
I did buy a large white mug (about 500ml I think) for £2, it's not the sort of purchase you would make via the internet.
I've already bought one before, I should have bought two as they're excellent.
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Expensive sites, low margins, probably already more competition than there are customers, plus the internet makes getting stuff delivered to your door quick and simple.
The cheap Amazon of the high street - insufficient volume for most of the time
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Someone interviewed said that it was a blow to people who didn’t drive/own cars and couldn’t get to B&Q.
Ours is on a retail estate that was designed for cars - Clifton Moor. It’s not far from B&Q.
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Sad to see a High Street name with a Leicester origin going bust.
At least we still have Halfords to be proud of ;D
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The company spent £60m on a warehouse modernisation programme that went wrong, lost £40m on foreign exchange deals and failed to raise enough cash from investors and banks to enable a restructure to cut rents to go through.
“Despite those problems you can’t explain why dividends were paid … [nor why] money sloshing around in trusts can’t be used to refund a pension scheme,” Byrne said.
Wilko’s former chair tells MPs she was devastated by collapse of retailer https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/28/wilko-lisa-wilkinson-mps-collapse-retailer
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My local ex-Wilko has reopened as a Poundstretcher, i had a look in today, first one I've been in. Anyone who thought Wilko's demise was a result of them going downmarket, should have a look in a Poundstretcher.
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The company spent £60m on a warehouse modernisation programme that went wrong, lost £40m on foreign exchange deals and failed to raise enough cash from investors and banks to enable a restructure to cut rents to go through.
“Despite those problems you can’t explain why dividends were paid … [nor why] money sloshing around in trusts can’t be used to refund a pension scheme,” Byrne said.
Wilko’s former chair tells MPs she was devastated by collapse of retailer https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/28/wilko-lisa-wilkinson-mps-collapse-retailer
She didn't seem that devastated on the C4 News coverage.
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The R4 Today extracts suggest she got a good carpeting from the committee.
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The Range has a good selection of LED lamps that are branded Wilko; they're a bit cheaper than Home Bargains TAAAW.
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Expensive sites, low margins, probably already more competition than there are customers, plus the internet makes getting stuff delivered to your door quick and simple.
The cheap Amazon of the high street - insufficient volume for most of the time
Amazon took over my impulse purchases years ago. I don't see myself going back to actually browsing racks/shelves on the offchance.