Toast - Series 7: Wilko
episodePreviously titled “Toast - Wilko” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 27, 2026
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What led to the rise of Wilko as a successful family business?
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Hello and welcome to a new series of Toast, the show from BBC Radio 4 that celebrates amazing businesses, amazing brands that once offered a lot to customers but still ended up toast. I'm the BBC business journalist, Sean Farrington. Beside me is entrepreneur Sam White as ever. However, we keep Sam in the dark about what's coming up. Her conclusions at the end are based on what she's just heard. This time we're examining a successful family business that expanded over decades to occupy a treasured place on over 400 high streets and retail parks. So why couldn't it survive to celebrate its centenary? Sam, hello. Welcome back to Toast. Good to see you. Good to see you too. Business busy. Always the way.
How did the leadership of JK Wilkinson shape the company's early years?
Usual rollercoaster that is the life of an entrepreneur.
Now, the business we're checking out today is one of those variety retailers. Best known perhaps for its DIY, its pet care, gardening products. But you could find pretty much everything you might need for your home in a branch of Wilco's.
Ah, Wilco's.
You might have had a Wilkinson's on your local street. Do you ever wander around a Wilco's, you know, looking at which toilet cleaner should we go for? Toothpaste on offer?
I have frequented on occasion and probably bought some stuff that I didn't need.
Yes, it all started way back in 1930 when James Kemsie Wilkinson, who was known as JK, opened his first store in Leicester. And he was only 24 years old. By the end of that decade, he had six Wilkinson hardware shops and a small warehouse as well. And we are joined in the studio by Gordon Brown, who was Wilkinson's managing director in the 1990s, And actually remembers JK himself. Gordon, welcome to the Toast Studio.
What challenges did Wilko face during the 2010s?
Thank you. Great to be here. And JK, what can you tell us about that man who started it in 1930?
Quite a character, I think is a polite way of putting it. He had a real passion for the business. Quite clearly a superb retail brain, which he developed over the years. 50 years that he was in charge of the business. A master of the shop floor, really understood the shop floor, how products should be displayed, how it should be priced. But he was a bit short-tempered at times. And managers and staff found that out. Any particular moments spring to mind? Very much so. When I started, I spent a few days going around the stores in the Midlands with JK. And I remember him picking up one particular thing. It was a teapot with a lid, a separate lid.
How did competitor strategies impact Wilko's market position?
And I looked at it and he said, we shouldn't be selling this. And I said, why not? There's no hole in the lid. He said, if you put hot water on that and try and pour it, it'll splutter all over the place. It was taken out of sale immediately. But he had that eye for detail, which was so important in retail.
So when you joined the business in 1991, it was JK's son, Tony, who'd been chairman by that point for almost 20 years. Was he similar?
Quite different. He had a really good understanding of people. I think that was the key with Tony. He visited all the stores every year, talked to the staff in the shop floor, in the tea room, talked to the manager. And he could really gauge the people. Tony was a gentleman, a real gentleman. So what was the role of JK around that time then?
What role did product quality changes play in Wilko's decline?
He was a president.
He retired.
Although he did attend all the board meetings. And he attended the board meetings for the probably first four or five years that I was on the board. But I think what Tony did was also continue that best value concept that JK had. And I remember him writing to me not long after I joined the company saying, I want a maximum gross value. And he gave me a value. And what I don't want is profits to be more than typically around 5% return on sales. And if you get to 7%, then we're taking too much money off our customers. And so we had a bonus scheme that was targeted to that. And so we went for the 5% and we started drifting up. We dropped our prices so that we get more sales and we kept the 5% more sales, more profit.
Everyone was happy.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What led to the rise of Wilko as a successful family business?
0:00–1:39
2
How did the leadership of JK Wilkinson shape the company's early years?
1:39–2:46
3
What challenges did Wilko face during the 2010s?
2:46–3:28
4
How did competitor strategies impact Wilko's market position?
3:28–4:17
5
What role did product quality changes play in Wilko's decline?
4:17–5:09
6
How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect Wilko's operations?
5:09–6:15
7
What were the final decisions leading to Wilko's administration?
6:15–7:01
8
What lessons can businesses learn from Wilko's story?
7:01–32:08