Wilko has extended its contract with its home delivery partner GXO, in what it says is a sign the retailer is progressing, despite reports it is in trouble.
Growing online sales is central to Wilko’s turnaround strategy through its ‘omnichannel transformation’ plan. The contract with logistics provider GXO, which fulfils the orders, has been extended until June 2026.
It comes as Wilko prepares to enter a restructuring process known as a company voluntary arrangement, in which it will seek rent reductions from landlords. Wilko CEO Mark Jackson earlier this week said no store closures were planned as a result of the process.
The business is reported to be at risk of running out of money and falling into administration if the CVA is rejected in a crucial creditor vote to take place within weeks.
Wilko’s omnichannel strategy saw it roll out a click & collect service to all 400 stores earlier this year.
The retailer said today it had also recently partnered with Clearpay to add a ‘buy now pay later’ option to its online checkout. It said year-on-year digital sales were up 50% on average across the last eight weeks.
“The GXO work has been key to the acceleration of Wilko’s omnichannel transformation and that’s why we’re delighted to extend our contract with the business until 2026,” said Wilko digital & marketing director Ben Exall.
“Our stores remain the cornerstone of our business and we’ve always been a one-stop shop for all our customers’ everyday household and garden jobs, but now we’re able to offer more great value products, readily available to shop wherever the consumer wants, through fulfilment experience optimisation, ease of find and research, checkout, payment and aftercare initiatives.
“This contract extension accompanies a raft of recent announcements. Investing in improving our customer experience both digitally and in-store is at the heart of our turnaround strategy.”
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