Wilkinson Hardware Stores Ltd
Company History
Wilkinson Hardware Stores Ltd. is a family-owned general merchandiser in the UK founded by J.K.Wilkinson in 1930. From its humble beginning as a small hardware shop in Leicester, the company has grown into one of the leading retailers in the UK with £2 billion turnover, 22,000-employees, and about 350 stores across England, Wales and Scotland.
The company’s growth over the years has been driven by the simple philosophy of selling quality goods at discount prices, and putting customers at the heart of everything they do. To remain competitive, Wilkinson Hardware has been constantly developing strategies to respond to changing customers needs.
The company has evolved from a small local hardware store to focus on DIY products, and then started selling groceries & supermarket goods, followed by the launching the Wilko brand, and eventually expanded its product range beyond its traditional hardware and DIY market to over 25,000 items. Wilkinson now sells a wide range of DIY, garden, homewares, office, pet, health and beauty products both in store and through WilkinsonPlus.
Current Strategies
Wilkinson’s vision and strategies have been built on its core philosophy of giving people good quality goods for good price. To manage its competitive environment, the current strategy stems from its core ‘generic’ strategy of cost leadership (Porter), but with the combination of beyond-cost approaches.
Alternatively, according to Bowman’s Strategy Clock, we can say that the company is deploying the hybrid strategy, which includes low cost base and reinvestment in low price and differentiation. The company positioned itself as a ‘high street’ value retailer which is committed to provide customers with quality products, value for money, and friendly service. The company’s rapid growth over the last 10 years proves that the company has succeeded in delivering low prices for customers whilst building differentiation on the basis of its broad product
Wilkinson Hardware Stores Ltd. is a family-owned general merchandiser in the UK founded by J.K.Wilkinson in 1930. From its humble beginning as a small hardware shop in Leicester, the company has grown into one of the leading retailers in the UK with £2 billion turnover, 22,000-employees, and about 350 stores across England, Wales and Scotland.
The company’s growth over the years has been driven by the simple philosophy of selling quality goods at discount prices, and putting customers at the heart of everything they do. To remain competitive, Wilkinson Hardware has been constantly developing strategies to respond to changing customers needs.
The company has evolved from a small local hardware store to focus on DIY products, and then started selling groceries & supermarket goods, followed by the launching the Wilko brand, and eventually expanded its product range beyond its traditional hardware and DIY market to over 25,000 items. Wilkinson now sells a wide range of DIY, garden, homewares, office, pet, health and beauty products both in store and through WilkinsonPlus.
Current Strategies
Wilkinson’s vision and strategies have been built on its core philosophy of giving people good quality goods for good price. To manage its competitive environment, the current strategy stems from its core ‘generic’ strategy of cost leadership (Porter), but with the combination of beyond-cost approaches.
Alternatively, according to Bowman’s Strategy Clock, we can say that the company is deploying the hybrid strategy, which includes low cost base and reinvestment in low price and differentiation. The company positioned itself as a ‘high street’ value retailer which is committed to provide customers with quality products, value for money, and friendly service. The company’s rapid growth over the last 10 years proves that the company has succeeded in delivering low prices for customers whilst building differentiation on the basis of its broad product