Wilko is on the brink of collapse because management under its founder’s granddaughter ditched the tried-and-tested strategy of discount prices, it is claimed.
Former boss of 15 years Gordon Brown criticised the discounter’s top brass under Lisa Wilkinson for veering away from ‘their successful model of low price, low cost’.
Wilko’s managing director from 1992 to 2007 told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Wilko was a convenience store where you went to buy bits and pieces for your house for a low price.’
He added: ‘They paid consultants who helped them bring about a new format for stores.
‘But they were less aggressive on pricing and their approach on the shop floor.’
