Wilko Collapse

[jennyjj01]

Hmmmm. Only earlier today, I was posting my thoughts on buying shares with B&M in the belief that our 'move to value' retailers might see them prosper. B&M are racing ahead with new stores and SEEM successful.
But on the lunchtime news, the shocker that Wilko are on the brink of going into administration!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-663 ... ocial_Flow

"Catherine Shuttleworth, founder of retail analysis firm Savvy Marketing said 'It should have been Wilko's time to shine, with the Cost of Living crisis going on and shoppers looking for a bargain".

But she added that customers had been going to rivals such as Home Bargains, B&M and the Range as they looked for discounted food, household goods and garden items."

Heck..... Wilko were the B&M of the 80s. I wonder what dropped them in a hole? Standing still and letting B&M and Home Bargain steal their breakfast? High rents? A visit to Wilko is always muted with no queues at the tills, while the other two are always busy. Unrealistic pricing? Remember £2.50 for a 400g Mason Jar!

Time to study and re-evaluate my proposed share purchase.... And look in on the Wilko sales.

Meanwhile, as a prepper angle, we can look in on Wilko for Fire Sale prices of the stuff we buy. I read somewhere that they are almost giving away their seed stocks.

[Frnc]

I don't know why they are doing badly, maybe hit by online sales due to Covid. I did go there for a tube of silicone recently, and it was expensive. I got a name brand off Amazon for less, delivered. I got a couple of sprayers from Wilko that were rubbish. They didn't spray. I'm not saying all their stuff is expensive or rubbish, just a couple of things I remember. My ex used to love the place. I did get quite a bit from there in the past, including whole baskets of sponges when I was a tiler.

[jennyjj01]

I don't know why they are doing badly, maybe hit by online sales due to Covid. I did go there for a tube of silicone recently, and it was expensive. I got a name brand off Amazon for less, delivered. I got a couple of sprayers from Wilko that were rubbish. They didn't spray. I'm not saying all their stuff is expensive or rubbish, just a couple of things I remember. My ex used to love the place. I did get quite a bit from there in the past, including whole baskets of sponges when I was a tiler.

It's my suspicion that when faced with high High Street rent and rates, they abandoned giving good value and pushed ahead with price rises, which simply drove us away to those places that still offered value. Then onward to a vicious circle. If they are not piling it high and selling it cheap, they lose their unique selling point.
Their stores were mostly rented in town centre locations. B&M, Home Bargain, The Range seem to stay on the periphery of towns.
I'm still inclined to buy into B&M, but I'll be watching queue length closely.

[jansman]

Sad to see. Back in the day,the original Mr Wilkinson was a regular customer of mine here in Leicestershire . He will turn in his grave.

[jennyjj01]

Sad to see. Back in the day,the original Mr Wilkinson was a regular customer of mine here in Leicestershire . He will turn in his grave.

B&M share price up 0.9% on the day. A day where the market was down.
I'm placing a buy order. We can look back on this in six months.

Meanwhile, Wilko ARE almost giving seeds away. Fill yer boots
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/garden-outd ... =price-asc

[moominmama]

I will miss Wilko, I hope it can saved in some form but doubt it will ever retain the same number of stores or range of products.

Luckily our son was happy with Wilko Blox, and we got very many presents for him from Wilko, at one stage they did a Blox pick 'n' mix and he would happily spend ages looking for wheels, windows, doors and other interesting pieces. It was a real treat for him. It was great for stationary, decorating, diy, and I loved the garden equipment - we could get everything in one place, so handy. We have nowhere locally that does any of these, and had to travel to next town to Wilko to get items, Wilko was already handy for is as based in town centre so easily accessible.

It will leave a big gap in the high street and drive more people to internet shopping or car journeys.

[jennyjj01]

Hmmmm. Only earlier today, I was posting my thoughts on buying shares with B&M in the belief that our 'move to value' retailers might see them prosper. B&M are racing ahead with new stores and SEEM successful.
But on the lunchtime news, the shocker that Wilko are on the brink of going into administration!
...


Meanwhile, as a prepper angle, we can look in on Wilko for Fire Sale prices of the stuff we buy. I read somewhere that they are almost giving away their seed stocks.

I'm forever in the cheaper shops like Home Bargain and I feel the level of footfall and queue length as a rough guide to the health of the economy. Yesterday included a visit to Wilkinson, Poundland and the obligatory B&M.

Ch***t on a bike, it was depressing, even more so than usual:-

Wilkinsons was half picked bare, but still I could find no bargains there. £2 for a small mason jar? Who were they ever trying to sell to?
Poundland looked like a flea market just before closing time and even B&M looked empty, with shelves full of tat that even this pleb wouldn't buy. The shopping centre was like something from "Dawn of the dead" and the high street was depressing with long since boarded up shops like BHS still not rented out, and almost as many poor beggars as doorways.

In one nearby town, (Crewe) they knocked down most of the shops and built a lonesome multi story car park. But Poundland, Argos and Iceland and so many others have abandoned it. If Poundland and Argos can't survive what chance has any business? We don't have urban regeneration, we have dereliction and decay.

Is it just me and my mood, or is the economy and society as a whole really in the worst state it's been in living memory?

If you can't see the prepping angle here, then hear it. I'm SCREAMING that inflation and poverty are now destroying our retail and social infrastructure in what feels like a rapid vicious circle. Let me be wrong. Tell me I'm wrong.

[Arzosah]

We don't have urban regeneration, we have dereliction and decay.

Is it just me and my mood, or is the economy and society as a whole really in the worst state it's been in living memory?

If you can't see the prepping angle here, then hear it. I'm SCREAMING that inflation and poverty are now destroying our retail and social infrastructure in what feels like a rapid vicious circle. Let me be wrong. Tell me I'm wrong.

I can't tell you you're wrong, sorry Jenny. Anything I write will be political, even though bipartisan, so I won't write it. But one blog we often quote here is consciousnessofsheep, and what's happening now chimes with what's written there.

I was going to say, its not quite as bad as its ever been (though your first hand look at the shops was really interesting) but I can't say that. My town has had a foodbank for a long time: and 5 years ago, when I started going to the council-run Healthy Walks scheme, one of the women there was married to the bloke who was organising the foodbank - and the need in my (well off dormitory town for London) was so little that half the donations were sent to other towns in the county. I've just been talking to a new acquaintance who volunteers at the foodbank, and she said there's 50-60 families a week getting help there. In 5 years, that's how the situation's changed.

[jennyjj01]

We don't have urban regeneration, we have dereliction and decay.

Is it just me and my mood, or is the economy and society as a whole really in the worst state it's been in living memory?

If you can't see the prepping angle here, then hear it. I'm SCREAMING that inflation and poverty are now destroying our retail and social infrastructure in what feels like a rapid vicious circle. Let me be wrong. Tell me I'm wrong.

I can't tell you you're wrong, sorry Jenny. Anything I write will be political, even though bipartisan, so I won't write it. But one blog we often quote here is consciousnessofsheep, and what's happening now chimes with what's written there.

I was going to say, its not quite as bad as its ever been (though your first hand look at the shops was really interesting) but I can't say that. My town has had a foodbank for a long time: and 5 years ago, when I started going to the council-run Healthy Walks scheme, one of the women there was married to the bloke who was organising the foodbank - and the need in my (well off dormitory town for London) was so little that half the donations were sent to other towns in the county. I've just been talking to a new acquaintance who volunteers at the foodbank, and she said there's 50-60 families a week getting help there. In 5 years, that's how the situation's changed.

Thanks I'll look at COS. Since we are taking the political angle off-forum, i hope the moderators will be ok with us mentioning that other site.
We COULD consider a political twist to this, but let's not. We could just say it's failure of all governments or blame one side or t'other, or we could maybe say it's just the way things are.
But what we need to do is consider if we are reading this right and what we might do about it as preppers.
I see the writing on the wall wherein we get social unrest and mass poverty and starvation, not in twenty years, but in maybe five. In the past, we have clambered out of recession by various means whether it be quantative easing, changes in industrial practices or even consumer confidence returning. But I personally cannot see the light at the end of THIS tunnel.
Foodbanks: I have some dealings with a local foodbank and another charity. That foodbank is having to buy in foods with regular paid shopping trips with 'special funding'. There's so little slack money in the economy that donations have plunged while demand has soared. Some funding comes from churches and organisations which have their own agenda ( Not going there ) This is not a desperately poor borough, but it's heading that way at a palpable speed. I see my own extended pantry and wonder when it will be bigger than theirs!

As Jansman might say, we've had it too good for too long, with food that was too cheap. Is this a Great Reset?

Stay safe friends.

[Vitamin c]

My local high St is much the same lots of charitie shops ,bookmakers and empty shops with the white windows it's unfortunately now nationwide even in the south .

The mortgage rate has crippled the already bad economy.