Introduction
Wilko was founded by James Wilkinson in Leicester in 1930 using the family name of Wilkinson. The first shop and consequent shops until 2012 were named Wilkinson, and after 2012 the products and store names were re-branded to Wilko.
Wilko started out as a brick and mortar store selling hardware. It expanded its catalog to include all kinds of homeware tools, textiles, cleaning products and added health and beauty products too, and their paint range came into existence in 1973.
From its inception in 1930 to the beginning of WWI in 1939, Wilko expanded its shops around Leicester to 9, and between WWII and 1980, Wilko expanded to 78 stores around the UK. When Wilko founder Tony passed away in 1997, there were around 150 locations for Wilkinson stores around the UK including Scotland and Wales.
The Wilko Expansion Method
One of the methods that Wilkinson used to help expand his retail outlet size was to invest prepared locations, usually shops and stores that had closed down. Rather than build something new, Wilkinson invested in interior design only, and you can see some of their renovation locations where former Kwik, Safeway’s and Marks & Spencer stores that closed down were bought out and renovated. Another aspect of this expansion was to target town centers, especially those with lower sales figures, and used their Wilko prices to their advantage.
One of the advantages of this process was to provide fewer start-up costs, and the success of the stores also paved the way for Wilko to expand certain locations, adding new floor space by increasing the number of levels in the store.
The New Image
One of the wonders of the internet era (digital era) was the use of shortened names to make a brand easier to remember, as well as to identify through imagery. Wilkinson rebranded itself Wilko and entered the digital brand era in 2012. This process didn’t happen overnight, and it took 2 years for Wilkinson to convert every location and product to Wilko totally.
Wilko Product Catalog
One of the reasons that Wilko has survived the street shop closedowns that other retail stores have suffered from is due to their adoption of an online presence with e-commerce solutions.
The Wilko site is a classic online e-commerce site that focuses the buyers experience on finding the product they want easily and fast. It provides buying and shipping options and is constantly updated. There are multiple categories to choose from, and each category is populated by hundreds of items.
The online categories include; Home, Kitchen & Dining, Cleaning & Household, Decorating & DIY, Storage, Pets, Health & Beauty, Stationery & Craft, Toys, Motoring & Cycling, Party & Gift Wrap, Garden & Outdoor Living.
Most of the products you buy are Wilko brands. However they started to sell other brand labels too, and this is actually a resilient business option. The digital era is all about customer satisfaction and the trend for customer satisfaction has been set by companies like Amazon, where buyers want their purchases delivered immediately and at low cost. As such, Wilko has forged ahead into the digital era with its own supply chain system, allowing customers a wider range of products to purchase from the ease of their chairs at home, or from their mobile phones anywhere.
Wilko also has a Facebook page as well as a website and survey site, so their understanding of the importance in online marketing is constantly evolving, and that is why Wilko maintains its market presence and will continue to serve satisfied customers all year round for another 80 years.
Statistics
As of today, Wilko has over 387 locations around the British Isles, with a revenue of around £1.5b and is growing on a monthly basis due to its online e-commerce solution.
Customer Satisfaction
The digital age has brought a lot of connectivity with it, and one of the better advancements made is the customer survey site technology. This is a site that collects information from customers that answer specific questions designed to help Wilko improve their services and performance.
Wilko is all about customer satisfaction, after all, a satisfied customer is a returning one, which is a good business sense that leads to expansion and continuous success. To help customers participate, Wilko added an incentive and provided a £100 Gift Card draw once a month.
The Wilko Survey at www.wilkohaveyoursay.com
When you buy at a Wilko store, you can participate in the monthly draw, and you are not limited to the number of times you participate, for every time you make a purchase you can use it to participate.
How to Participate
The items you will need to participate in a survey include:
- Internet Connection
- Computer or smartphone
- The Wilko purchase receipt
Instructions:
- Visit www.wilkohaveyoursay.com
- Select the feedback location preference; you can choose between a store, website or home delivery.
- Use the receipt for identifying information; the survey site will request this data
- After you input the identification information, you will be navigated to the survey page
- Answer all the questions, since the survey must be completed to participate in the prize draw.
- Enter your contact information at the end of the survey
- That’s it; you are now in for a chance at winning a £100 Gift Card prize
Conclusion:
www.wilkohaveyoursay.com is the best place to let Wilko know your personal feelings about the experience at buying at Wilko’s. Apart from the survey, you can also write to Wilko’s customer support, but that does not give you prize participation. Wilko is a 7 day a week store, which means you can shop in their brick and mortar shops seven days a week, or online 24/7.
Contacting Wilko
Wilko Customer Care Enquiries
Address
Wilko Customer Care
JK House
Roebuck Way
Manton Wood
Worksop
Nottinghamshire, S80 3EG.
Telephone: 08000 329 329
Opening Times
Monday 08:00 – 20:00
Tuesday 08:00 – 20:00
Wednesday 08:00 – 20:00
Thursday 08:00 – 20:00
Frida 08:00 – 20:00
Saturday 08:00 – 18:00
Sunday 09:00 – 17:00
