Wilkinson (retailer) - Stores and Distribution

Stores and Distribution

The first Wilkinson store was opened in Leicester in 1930, increasing to a total of nine branches by 1940; the Beaconsfield store can be seen in the background in the 1945 film Brief Encounter. By the end of the 1980s Wilkinson had a total of 78 stores, increasing to over 150 by the time of the founder's death in 1997.

Wilkinson opened their first Scottish outlet in Castle Douglas on 23 January 2009 in a store formerly occupied by The Co-operative Group. Stores were subsequently opened in Scotland that same year in Motherwell on 17 July, in Irvine in November and in Clydebank on 2 December. During 2010, the latest stores planned for Scotland set to open are Hamilton, Kilmarnock, Greenock and Livingston.

By October 2009, Wilkinson had a total of 359 stores nationwide, with stores averaging in excess of 17,000 sq ft (1,600 m2), and employed over 22,000 people. By June 2012 they had 370 stores with further concept stores planned initially in Crawley and if successful leading to a further 3 stores in the pipeline nationwide. The expansion plan - originally for 500 stores - has been reduced owing to the problems with the UK economy.

The company has two distribution centres:

• D.C.1 & Head Office

Called JK House (including a store for current team members only) it is based in Manton Wood, Worksop, Nottinghamshire. When opened in 1995 it had the fastest sorting system in the UK. The DC1 is situated just south east of the former Manton Colliery which closed in 1994. The DC1 as of 2012 employs approximately 1,800 employees. The DC1 has its own fuelling station for the company’s fleet of vehicles: Canute Lorries, shunters and other HGV's which operate in the DC. The DC1 is equipped with several different types of forklift trucks which operate throughout the distribution centre. The majority of the Canute lorries which are leased by Wilkinson are in the new Wilkinson livery.

• D.C.2 - based in Magor, South Wales.

Wilkinson has a trend of taking over redundant former stores rather than building new ones, particularly in the West Midlands; notable examples include the former Kwik Save store in Great Bridge (May 2008), the former Safeway store in Halesowen (early 2007) and the former Marks & Spencer store in Dudley (July 1991). The opening of a store in Dudley was an example of a trend of the retailer to take over large units in town centres left vacant by the relocation of big retail names to out of town locations, as Marks & Spencer had closed its Dudley store during 1990 in favour of a new store at the nearby Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The Dudley store was so successful that a £250,000 expansion to the upper level of the building (initially only the ground floor was used) was completed three years after its opening. By this stage, Wilkinson was one of Britain's fastest growing retailers.