A SHOP owner has told how his shop is just as cheap as Wilko with Brits loving his cost-cutting gems even more.
Business owner Andy Hampton opened Ilkeston Discount Chain Store in Derbyshire, offering hundreds of reduced items.
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Shoppers were left in shock when beloved Wilko collapsed in the summer, with nowhere to go to snap up their low-cost items.
But a new independent store has come to town – and savvy residents say it’s better than the bargain giant.
Ilkeston Discount Chain Store was expanded from an end-of-line clothes store into a one-stop shop for much of what Wilko once offered.
Andy expanded the store from an end-of-line clothes store into a one-stop shop for much of what Wilko once offered.
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Popular Ilkeston Discount Chain Store was opened in March it initially sold women’s and children’s clothes.
The 56-year-old said: “That had a big impact on this town. For 100 years they had been known as a decent shop where people can get what they need under one roof.”
Now, dozens of money-savers flock to the store everyday and it has expanded its premises to cope with the demand.
“I knew then we had to expand to help fill in this gap. They say the first year is the hardest but we’ve grown by 20 per cent and moved into bigger premises,” he added.
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The unit boasts hundreds of different items – including stationary, a children’s section, pet supplies and an aisle devoted to home life.
Andy Smith, 54, who runs the Ilkeston Coffee Bean café, said the store is welcomed by residents hit by the cost of living.
He said: “I think the independent shops are coming back.
“People haven’t got much spare cash so they are looking to local businesses to help them out.”
Customer Maria Smith, 50, said: “I’m always amazed by what I find. When it first opened it was all about the clothes.
“Now I am in here two or three times a week and always finding something different. It’s a little gem this place.
“I found glue traps for mice which I had never even heard of. The mice get stuck to it and you can let them out in a field.”
Shoppers confessed the independent business is even cheaper than Wilko and the owner is always open to customer’s suggestions.
Debbie Raikes, 61, added: “I come in here most days. The stuff Andy finds is actually cheaper than Wilko and he listens to his customers.
“If you tell him you’re after something, he’ll make it his business for find it.”
However, Andy tries not to tread on the toes of other independent businesses in town.
He said: “That’s not being neighbourly. I won’t stock a needle or any thread because there’s a sewing shop over the road and I would never do key cutting.
“You can’t step on other peoples’ toes in a town like this.”
With just a few weeks away from Christmas, the businessman is now preparing to turn the back of the shop into a Santa’s Grotto with parents paying £4 a time.
“They get a £3 present and the other pound goes to the Everyone Eats charity that provides Christmas dinners to those in need,” he explained.
This week he will host the town’s Halloween Spectacular when 90 shops join in the fun with staff dressing as ghouls and providing sweets to local children.
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It comes as Wilko shops are set to return to the UK high street after the chain collapsed earlier this year.
Shoppers will once again be able to browse in the beloved discounter, with five stores opening before Christmas.
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