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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Alahna Kindred

Fears Wilko could shut stores as firm in 'early stages' of big shake-up

One of Britain's biggest discount chains is in the "early stages" of a big shake-up amid fears shops could close.

Wilko is understood to have been considering a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) which is a form of insolvency.

What this does is it gives a business a way to restructure but continue to keep trading.

In some instances, this means some shops will be shut and rents will be negotiated to keep costs down.

Today the CEO made a statement about their new "turnaround programme".

There was no direct mention of any stores shutting but Mark Jackson said the company was in the "early stages" of stabilising the business.

A lady walks past Wilko homewares and household goods store in Wales (SIPA USA/PA Images)

Mr Jackson said: “We announced the start of our turnaround programme to drive Wilko forward in January, complete with a new streamlined senior team and a strategic plan to first stabilise the business and then implement a growth strategy.

“We’re in the early stages of the turnaround and, as is usual, the directors continue to explore all options for Wilko’s long-term future.

“We’re confident with the right actions, we’ll continue to be a key feature on the British high street and expand our omnichannel offer, providing customers a place to shop for all their household and garden needs.”

The discount chain is said to be looking at restructuring options and has approached financial advisors PricewaterhouseCoopers in recent weeks, Bloomberg reports.

It comes after Wilko announced plans it was closing more than a dozen shops last January.

Earlier this year, Wilko rolled out its click and collect service across all its stores in the UK.

The service is free to use and allows customers to order products online before picking them up in stores.

Some items will be ready to collect within just three hours and there is no minimum spend to use click and collect.

The introduction of the service comes after a successful trial involving around half of Wilko stores.

It will now be made available across all remaining stores as part of this full rollout.

Once you've placed an order, you will have seven days to collect your goods.

If you don't collect within this time, Wilko will refund you.

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