![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wilko-shoppers-give-their-view-on-the-troubled-store-chain/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/130778572_june.jpg&description=Image caption, Wilko entered administration on Thursday and a buyer is being sought News that store chain Wilko has entered administration has shocked customers and the wider retail sector. But what do shoppers in Leicester, where the company was founded, make of developments - and do they think the company can survive? Now one of the biggest names on the high street, Wilko had humble beginnings, founded by J K Wilkinson in Leicester in 1930. But its 400 stores and 12,500 staff face an uncertain future now that the troubled chain is in administration. Shoppers at Wilko's Charles Street store in the city had their say. Image caption, Zahra Hassan said most people would be upset to hear of the company's problems Zahra Hassan had just been to Argos to check the price of an item, before going to Wilko, where it was cheaper, to buy it. "I love Wilko," she said. "I love shopping at Wilko, especially when the seasons start, you have the latest colours, and it's good value for money as well." On the chain's financial problems, she said: "I know that most people are going to be upset about it because people have an attachment to Wilko, somehow." Image caption, Colin Hayes has shopped at Wilko for about 50 years Colin Hayes has shopped at Wilko for decades. "I've been coming to Wilko for something like 50 years, getting everything I need for the household, and it's all there in one store," he said. "[I buy] DIY stuff mostly: paint and gardening equipment. Regarding the retailer's current problems, he said: "The news is terrible. "I think the problem is they expanded too much into other departments... [for example] home furnishings - never used to do them and now they have. "It'd be nice to see them survive, but, as you see, the high street is in decline. You just don't know what's going to happen to them. "I feel so sorry for the staff that's in there, doing their best, and they don't know what the future is for them." Image caption, Jovan Gregan said Wilko had a lot of histo){kind=link}
News that store chain Wilko has entered administration has shocked customers and the wider retail sector. But what do shoppers in Leicester, where the company was founded, make of developments – and do they think the company can survive?
Now one of the biggest names on the high street, Wilko had humble beginnings, founded by J K Wilkinson in Leicester in 1930.
But its 400 stores and 12,500 staff face an uncertain future now that the troubled chain is in administration.
Shoppers at Wilko’s Charles Street store in the city had their say.
Zahra Hassan had just been to Argos to check the price of an item, before going to Wilko, where it was cheaper, to buy it.