B&M has confirmed the location of its first Wilko takeover ahead of 51 new openings.
The bargain retailer has agreed a 10-year lease for an ex-Wilko store in Washington, Tyne and Wear.
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B&M is taking over the collapsed chain’s former unit in The Galleries Shopping Centre, according to the Sunderland Echo.
Simon Eatough, director for landlord and tenant at LCP, part of M Core, which owns and manages the shopping centre, said: “We know Wilko’s closure left a big hole for our shoppers, so we’re thrilled that B&M, a significant national brand, earmarked the Galleries for one of the stores it wanted to take over.
“It’s great news for the local community, who value having a wide range of retailers locally, and with eight tenants signing up this year, including Deichmann and Select, it’s been a great 12 months for The Galleries and we’re excited by other developments in the pipeline.”
B&M has agreed to buy up to 51 Wilko locations in a £13million deal back in September.
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The majority of these new stores are expected to rebrand as B&Ms.
However, B&M won’t confirm a full list of expected openings but more will follow in the coming months.
Wilko tumbled into administration in August before a flurry of potential buyers expressed an interest.
But sadly, a buyer for the whole business couldn’t be found and it announced all 400 shops would close by October.
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Wilko’s last remaining sites shut for good on Sunday, October 8.
Wilko.com returned in October under The Range’s ownership and Wilko-branded items are being stocked in The Range stores.
Rivals also stepped in to buy a handful of stores.
Among those was Poundland, which purchased 71 Wilko stores.
B&M also agreed to buy up to 51 locations in a £13million deal.
But CDS Superstores, which trades as The Range and Wilko, also revealed last month that it will be relaunching the chain across Britain’s high streets.
Ahead of a national roll-out across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Wilko celebrated the opening of its first new concept stores in Plymouth and Exeter on December 1.
Chief executive of CDS Superstores, trading as The Range and Wilko, Alex Simpkin told The Sun: “The customer reaction to the new stores opening today has been fantastic and proves we’re doing the right thing in returning this much-loved retailer to UK high streets.”
The stores welcomed queues of returning Wilko customers eager to get their hands on their much-loved products.
The two store openings will be closely followed by Luton on December 8 with more locations to be announced imminently.
The Range founder, Chris Dawson and his chief executive Alex Simpkin recently gave another update on their plans for Wilko and Chris Dawson said up to 300 stores could reopen on Britain’s high streets.
If the new B&M store is set to open up near you – we’ve listed some tips on how to save money when shopping at the brand below.
How can I save money at B&M?
The B&M barcode scanner app allows you to discover discounted items before the staff have even reduced them.
The scanner is located on the B&M Stores mobile app, which can be downloaded for free on your smartphone.
Shoppers can download it on the App Store or Google Play.
Once you’ve got the app, click on the “scan” button at the bottom of your homepage.
This will then bring up the camera on your smartphone, which you’ll need to use to scan barcodes.
When you’ve found a product you want to scan, simply point your smartphone camera toward its barcode.
The app will then automatically bring up the item’s price – this is when you’ll know if it is reduced or not.
Bargain hunters say some items come up as £1, 50p or even 10p through the app.
Shoppers should also keep an eye out for products with a white reduction sticker on.
This means they will have a certain amount slashed off the price shown on the label.
Shop for products at the end of the season.
Get friendly with staff too.
They’ll be able to tell you when the sales will hit, or if there are bargains out the back – so you get the best bits.
