Alarmed shoppers have said Nottinghamshire could suffer a potential 'blow' after hearing of Wilko's financial struggles. The discount retail brand announced earlier today (January 5) that it had borrowed £40million from restructuring specialist Hilco.
Wilko confirmed there will be no redundancies for its staff or changes for customers as it changes its leadership team amid financial losses. The business also announced it had sold its Worksop site - the firm's headquarters - in November to DHL for £48million.
However, it will not be moving from its large headquarters as it will be leasing the site back from DHL in a new 15-year partnership agreement. The company hopes the funding from Hilco will allow 'financial stability throughout a tough trading period'.
Read more: Closure of Nottingham city centre shop 'unsurprising' amid calls for empty space
The news comes as high street rivals Boots announced today that it achieved a record-breaking Black Friday. Posting its results for the latest financial quarter, Nottinghamshire's largest company said it had benefited from its biggest-ever day of digital sales on November 25 last year, taking more than three orders every second for 14 hours straight.
Wilko, the fourth-largest firm in Nottinghamshire, recorded a £36.8m loss before tax over the year leading to January 2022. During lockdowns of 2020, it recorded £4.4m in profit as many households turned to DIY and it was one of the first stores allowed to open in the early months of the pandemic as it was deemed essential.
One of Wilko's Nottinghamshire stores is in Arnold town centre. Karen Selby, 70, who lives nearby, said: "I think there's potentially still a lot of people in Arnold who still shop at Wilko. I do most times I come in.
"It's hard to buy a lot of the stuff that they sell anywhere else, except B&M. We've got the pound shop too but I think people trust Wilko more for having the stuff they want.
"I go in there for things around the house, things I need for my garden. This is a good-sized shop as well - it would be difficult if anything was to happen to it.
"A lot of the businesses in Nottingham are being ignored, I think. Those in power don't seem to be bothered about what's happening here - that's how I feel.
"Now another big company is suffering." Tracy Carter, 57, who works in an office job, said: "I still go in there occasionally. I don't go in there as much now but a lot of people are in and out of there.
"It's got to be one of our biggest stores. It's not nice to hear about - lots of businesses have obviously struggled recently, like everyone is.
"It doesn't sound very good. Hopefully it isn't something that's going to affect workers."
Total sales for Wilko dropped by £43.2m to £1.32billion, according to accounts filed at Companies House. In a statement, Wilko admitted it 'had not been performing to its full potential' and needed to make 'strategic changes'.
It confirmed that this will not affect the 16,000 staff across the business or customers. Pamela Sissons, 86, who has lived in Arnold for around 30 years, said: "I go in there all the time. It's usually for things I need for the kitchen, household things, toothpaste, shampoo - things like that.
"It's just easy. We've had a few things close down in Arnold, like the Co-op, banks.
"Other places, like Sherwood, have experienced problems too. It would be a blow if anything was to happen to Wilko.
"Everyone seems to be struggling at the moment and it would be a shame if any of those workers were laid off. My daughter is someone who has been made redundant a few times so we know what that's like."
Wilko is the UK's 23rd biggest retailer with a 20,000 product line from household goods to pet food. It has more than 400 stores in the country.
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