Wilko could be returning to Sussex

The first two locations will be Plymouth and Exeter, closely followed by two locations in the south east and one in the north - which will be announced soon.

Following the original company’s collapse, Wilko stores in Crawley, Eastbourne and Bognor Regis closed on September 17, the Worthing and Burgess Hill branches shut on October 5, and the Horsham site closed its doors on October 8.

CEO of parent company CDS Superstores Alex Simpkin 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.”

Ex-employees are set to get priority as part of the recruitment process for the new stores.

The CDS Superstores property team is encouraging landlords across the UK to open productive conversations if they’re interested in being considered for the wilko roll-out programme.