Wilkinson is a British high street household and homewares chain store with over 365 stores in the United Kingdom. The business was started in 1930 by James Kemsey Wilkinson and went under the name of Wilkinson Cash Stores. Since its founding, the business has remained under the control of the founding family and when James Kemsey Wilkinson’s son Tony Wilkinson retired as chairman in 2005, after holding the position for 45 years, he was replaced by his daughter Lisa Wilkinson and niece Karin Swann. The company’s headquarters is based in Worksop.
The first Wilkinson store opened in 1930 in Leicester, and within the next 10 years the company opened another eight branches. By the end of the 1980s, there were 78 Wilkinson stores. At the time of the death of founder James Kemsey Wilkinson in 1997, there were over 150 stores. Wilkinson continued to open new stores across the United Kingdom, and by 2009 the company had a total of 359 stores. The company’s vision is to open 500 stores. Wilkinson also has over 22,000 employees working in its stores nationwide.
Wilkinson chain stores deals in top quality home products like; household essentials, homewares, DIY, textiles, cleaning products, stationery, health and beauty products, pet products, and kitchen and bathroom products. The company also markets a huge range of products sold under their own brand name “Wilko”. One of the company’s popular sales period is the seasonal ranges that are introduced on a rotational basis. In 2007, Wilkinson introduced its grocery range including a “food to go” service in a couple of its larger stores. During the same year, the company also opened its first convenience store.
