Wilko: Sixth new store to open soon as High Street chain continues rebirth under new owner - full list of shops

The parent company of The Range, CDS Superstores, which also bought Wilko’s website and intellectual property following the discount chain’s 2023 administration, opened five shops before Christmas and will open a sixth next month

Last year, in a phased programme, Wilko shut all the stores in its 400-strong estate across the UK, leading to the redundancy of almost all its 12,500 workers.

So far its new owner has opened shops in

• Plymouth, Armada Centre, Mayflower Street
• Exeter, Guildhall Shopping Centre
• Luton, Arndale Centre 
• St Albans, The Maltings Shopping Centre
• Rotherham, Parkgate Shopping Park 

The sixth shop, which is due to open its doors on August 16, is in the Dolphin Centre in Poole.

Alex Simpkin, chief executive officer of CDS Superstores, said last year: “The public reaction to the loss of Wilko stores was undeniable. It’s clear that there’s a huge love for Wilko and we’ve seen an encouraging demand for the return of its own-brand products. That’s why we’ve taken the decision to reintroduce Wilko back to many of the high streets and communities that it used to so proudly serve.”

CDS said last year that it is also planning to open Wilko-branded shops in Northern Ireland for the first time.

Meanwhile, last December the boss of Poundland said his company had seen “amazing” trade across its former Wilko stores. It bought 71 shops from the administrators in September and rebranded them as Poundland, also hiring more than 1,000 former Wilko workers.

Austin Cooke, managing director of the Poundland, said in December that the collapse of its rival does not mean the high street is in turmoil but admitted the backdrop is still challenging for retailers. “There is still plenty of positivity on the high street,” he said.