I'm writing again after a break. Look out for some serious churning!
I'm writing again after a break. Look out for some serious churning!
Member since:08.09.2000
Reviews:102
Members who trust:56
When Wilkinson's first opened in Basildon I took little notice. Then my Dad said his builder friend (who is know for being frugal) said they were a great place to shop so I wandered in. Now I'm a real bargain lover, tell me you bought a designer suit for just £200 and I won't be impressed, tell me you bought 5 suits for £200 and you've got my attention!
~~~ The Motto ~~~ Yep, Wilkinson's have a motto its "Low, Low Prices Everytime". They live up to this motto in their everyday prices and also offer regular discounts on a highlighted item, currently this is 25% off all Wilko hand tools, locks and latches. You always know what's going on at Wilkinson's as they insert small (16 page) catalogues in your local papers. I love this catalogue, it always makes me want to rush down there and bag some bargains!
~~~ The Store ~~~ Our Wilkinson's is a big new store in a new shopping center in town. Wilkinson's is a large store with wide aisles and plenty of checkouts. The shop takes all major credit and debit cards, even Solo cards which are rarely accepted. The staff are unbelievably helpful in here, as I have found out a number of times. Whenever
I ask a member of staff to point me in the right direction they always seem to know where to find the product I am after, a lot of other stores fail miserably in this area. On my last visit I bought some heavy items and the cashier got a young lad over to help me carry them to my car without me even asking for this service.
~~~ The Products ~~~ I won't go into every product area in detail here as I don't use all the areas in the store. Basically the store stocks the following.
Pet Foods & Accessories Toiletries Clothing Gardening tools, plants and furniture DIY Home Decorating Soft furnishings (cushions, throws etc) Kitchenware Snack foods (crisps, chocolates etc)
I usually use Wilkinson's to buy gardening stuff, DIY and home decorating supplies and a few toiletries. The clothing is good and well priced but not in my size although I suspect I would buy a lot of kids clothes here if I had any kids. The pet food is somewhat limited and they don't stock the Felix which my cats eat. I'm not allowed snack foods because of my diet although hubby dearest has bought me some nice chocolates from here a couple of times.
~~~ The Prices ~~~ Now here's the best bit, Wilkinson's prices are pretty damned good. In fact they beat most other shops hands down. Last time I bought some DIY/decorating stuff in here I priced matched it against B&Q and Homebase and found that each of my purchases had been cheaper at Wilkinson's. The savings were not massive, as nothing I bought cost more than £5 but each item was a few pence cheaper, and as you know savings add up. For a comparison here's an example from their latest leaflet Mr Muscle kitchen or bathroom cleaners are currently 99p each in Wilkinson's, in Tesco they are £1.37 each. With savings like this to be found across the store you can make a substantial reduction in your shopping bill.
~~~ Brand Name Products ~~~ Some discount stores you shop at offer no brand name products. With Wilkinsons this is not the case. All of your big brand names are to be found in the store, the decorating materials I bought recently were mainly Cuprinol and I have also bough hammerite and Dulux products here. The toiletries and cleaning products sold are your recognised brand names too, as well as a multitude of Wilko's own brand good.
~~~ Wilko Brand Products ~~~ I urge all of you to try Wilko branded products. These are not inferior to big name products, just cheaper. Indeed some of the Wilko products are so good that you will never go back to that brand name again. Following a recommendation from Dad's frugal builder friend I purchased Wilko hand cleaner which is indeed even better than Swarfega (Is that how you spell it?) and much cheaper. Certainly I always buy Wilko branded products from the gardening department and I've found no loss of quality in using these. I'm off there tomorrow for a cast iron parasol base for my garden umbrella, Wilkinson's sell one for £9.99, everywhere else they are £19.99
~~~ Never Heard Of Them? ~~~ Well that does seem to be a problem with Wilkinson's, they are by no means covering all of the country at the moment. I believe that they started "Up North" (head office is in Nottingham) and are now expanding to cover the rest of the country. There is one opening soon near my parents, and that will be a big shop too as it is taking over a just vacated Sainsbury's. Wilkinson's do have a web site but I've had a look and the site doesn't really do them justice yet, many of their products are not shown on there.
~~~ The Bottom Line ~~~ Wilkinson's is a must for anyone who wants to save money when they shop. Unlike other discount stores the shops are spacious and the stock is attractively laid out. They take all forms of payment and sell brand names as well as excellent own branded products. Wilkinson's is my kind of store, pop in one day and be pleasantly surprised.
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Thanks for this - I actually thought they were a cheap and nasty supermarket selling brands no one's heard of - like Lidl and Aldi - so have steered clear. There's one opening in Bournemouth soon so I will definitely be having a look!
KarenUK 17.04.2001 16:56
I just thought they sold DIY stuff, so have given them a wide berth. Thanks for informing me :-)
Advantages: It sells everything, and at very reasonable prices. Disadvantages: In my local store the Security Guard is of undefined gender, and scares me ;)
Fuschia 30.03.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Wilkinson (Shop)
Apr 15th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
