Hopes former Wilko Newcastle city centre shop could be given new lease of life
by Tom Keighley · ChronicleLiveSigns have emerged that a the former Wilko shop which spanned Newcastle city centre's Nun Street and Newgate Street could be reopened.
Property agents who have been marketing the large, three-floor property since July this year have indicated it is now under offer - though it is not known who is lined up for the site. The 50,270 sqft unit was shuttered in October last year following the demise of the discount retailer, which had occupied the location for 27 years.
It was among 22 Wilko shops to close across the North East, including Sunderland, Silverlink and Newcastle city centre, and 400 nationally, leaving 12,500 employees facing redundancy. Eight of the region's former shops were reopened as Poundlands, with one in Jarrow closing just months later.
Meanwhile the Wilko brand was acquired by Chris Dawson, the owner of homeware retailer The Range, who has already opened six sites and has talked of his ambitions to have up to 300 in the next five years. A seventh shop in London is set to launch this week.
Hopes the number 8-11 Nun Street property could be revived have been raised by retail property consultants Barker Proudlove, who have been instrumental in marketing a number of former Wilko sites. The firm's brochure for the shop, which also fronts Newgate Street and featured a cafe on the upper floor, shows it is under offer.
Last year when news of Wilko's rejuvenation emerged, Alex Simpkin, boss of Chris Dawson Superstores, said: "For the majority of its 93 years, Wilko was an incredibly successful business that gave its customers exactly what they needed to get their home and garden jobs sorted. It was their advanced own-brand capabilities that encouraged us to invest in the brand and wilko.com and, we’re excited to now be selling Wilko products online once more and across our 200 stores network.
"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.
"Our team from Wilko that joined us through the acquisition has shown true resilience, they’ve set to work to integrate the best parts of Wilko into The Range’s operational systems. We’re expanding that team every day with new Wilko hires and can’t wait to extend that back out to local communities. We’ll endeavour to give ex-Wilko employees priority as a part of the recruitment process for the new stores."
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community