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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The Wilko name and intellectual property was bought by rival discounter The Range in the summer.
Now CDS Superstores, which trades as The Range and Wilko, has confirmed it will be relaunching the chain at sites in England, Scotland, and Wales in a surprise move.
The company has also said it will be opening Wilko shops in Northern Ireland for the first time.
Five stores are set to be up and running before Christmas.
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So far the only exact locations confirmed are in Plymouth and Exeter.
These sites are set to open in early December.
Two further stores will open in the South East and one in the North to be announced imminently.
The roll out will then continue in January with a view to having more shops open within months, according to CDS.
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Alex Simpkin, boss of CDS Superstores, said: “The public reaction to the loss of Wilko stores was undeniable.
“It’s clear that there’s a huge love for Wilko and we’ve seen an encouraging demand for the return of its own-brand products.
“That’s why we’ve taken the decision to reintroduce Wilko back to many of the high streets and communities that it used to so proudly serve.”
Mr Simpkin went on to add that the company will aim to give ex-Wilko employees priority as a part of the recruitment process for the new stores.
Nearly 10,000 staff were made redundant when 400 Wilkos stores closed.
The new shops will offer value items including cleaning and household, decorating and DIY, garden and outdoor, homeware, pets, storage, and seasonal items.
Customers will also be able to buy the wilko.com range for home delivery using in-store terminals.
Wilko.com returned earlier this month under The Range’s ownership, and Wilko branded items are being stocked in The Range stores.
Concessions have opened inside the chain’s 210 shops, selling many popular Wilko products.
CDS Superstores is asking landlords across the UK to open “productive conversations” if they’re interested in their sites becoming Wilko stores.
A mixture of former shops and new sites are being considered, it added.
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 then announced all 400 shops would close by October.
Wilko’s last remaining sites shut for good on Sunday, October 8.
A flurry of rivals bought a handful of stores.
Among those was Poundland, which purchased 71 Wilko stores.
The first of these reopened under the Poundland name earlier this month, with more set to follow.
B&M also agreed to buy up to 51 locations in a £13million deal.
These locations haven’t been announced yet, but will reopen as B&M shops.
In September, administrators confirmed they had agreed the sale of the retailer’s brand name to The Range in a £5million deal.
As part of the agreement, which also includes Wilko’s intellectual property, 36 jobs were saved as the employees transferred over.
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Rival chains Home Bargains and Dunelm also offered devastated Wilko staff new roles after the retailer collapsed.
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