Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, comments on the news that B&M has bought 51 Wilko stores from administrators:
“Today’s news that B&M has snapped up 51 Wilko stores seems to have put paid to the possibility of a fairy-tale ending for the ailing retailer’s story.
“Although the estate is considerably larger, which does create the opportunity for another suitor to pick over the remaining 357 stores, it’s likely that B&M got first pick of prime locations.
“The prospect that Doug Putnam was interested in saving another legendary high street brand had kindled hope, but that hope feels pretty fragile today and it’s becoming more likely that almost one hundred years of retailing history is about to end in disappointment.
“Wilko had quite simply failed to keep up with its competitors. Like Woolworth’s before it, the brand has a nostalgic place in the hearts of many shoppers, but how many can say they were regular patrons?
“You could point to the pandemic and the cost of living crisis as being the straws that broke this camel’s back, but as a discount retailer Wilko could have found itself rammed with savvy consumers hunting the best possible deals.
“Whether it was the location of its stores, primarily in town and city centres without the convenience of large free car parks, a failure to promote itself to those shoppers forced to trade down, or whether it was just that it was outmanoeuvred by its competitors won’t matter a jot to the majority of its 12,500 staff still waiting to learn their fate.
“Its brand may yet be saved, more stores may be drawn into other empires, hopefully many of the employees will find alternate positions, but Wilko will never be quite the same and neither will our high streets.”
