Wilko – which collapsed into administration last year before being bought by The Range – is ramping up its delivery offering, partnering with Deliveroo and launching a dedicated store on Amazon.
More than 3,000 products from Wilko are now available on the Deliveroo app in 10 locations: Edinburgh, Bristol, Nottingham, Bournemouth, Eccles, Manchester, Bedford, Harlow, Plymouth and Leeds. A further 50 Wilko locations will come onto the platform by the end of the year.
It marks the first time Wilko has offered an on-demand, rapid delivery service. The available range covers garden, home, kitchen, DIY, cleaning, petcare and storage.
“It’s great to be making Wilko so much more accessible to its loyal customer base,” said Alex Simpkin, group CEO at CDS Superstores trading as Wilko and The Range. “There’s a huge love for the brand, and while we continue to open new stores this partnership gives us the opportunity to reach people quicker. All the great things you expect from Wilko and more in as little as 25 minutes.”
Wilko fell into administration in August 2023, leading to the loss of about 12,000 jobs after administrators at PwC were unable to find a rescuer for a significant part of the business.
CDS Superstores bought Wilko’s brand and online operation and has since embarked on an “aggressive” nationwide rollout across England, Scotland, Wales and, for the first time, Northern Ireland, through this year.
CDS late last year also revived online availability of a wide range of Wilko products last year on Wilko.com, which uses The Range’s third-party marketplace model and allows external suppliers to sell on the retailer’s own website.
This month, a dedicated Wilko storefront has appeared on Amazon.co.uk. It is yet to be populated with any products but promises shoppers’ “favourite brand” was “coming soon” to the e-commerce giant.
The Wilko deal signals continued growth of Deliveroo’s non-food retail offer – Deliveroo Shopping – which launched in November, allowing consumers to “seamlessly order a range of retail products, from electronics to petfood, from flowers to toys”.
The company at the time said it would “dramatically expand” the selection of non-takeaway or grocery items offered, covering categories including pharmacy, DIY, homeware, toys and petcare, and has since secured partnerships with The Perfume Shop, B&Q, Ann Summers and Boots. Deliveroo has also been working with its supermarket and convenience store partners to expand the non-food selection available on the app.
“It’s fantastic to welcome family favourite Wilko onto Deliveroo, and to offer their huge range of household essentials for delivery in as little as 25 minutes,” said Eric French, COO at Deliveroo. “Our customers really value the convenience of having the high street brought to their doorstep, and that’s why we’re excited to continue these partnerships with well-loved retailers like Wilko as we expand Deliveroo Shopping and add more selection for our customers.”
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