General merchandise giant Wilkinson has opened a new Wilko-branded store in Crawley that has a contemporary feel and strong sense of fun.

At the end of 2008, general merchandise value retailer Wilkinson opened a new format store in Leicester. At the time, Wilkinson was something of a retail recluse and it took several attempts by Retail Week to obtain permission both to have a quasi-official look round and take a few photos.

And in truth, although it was different from other stores in the retailer’s portfolio, it still looked and felt like a budget environment. The term ‘racking’ more aptly described its basic mid-shop fixturing, rather than ‘gondolas’ or something more inviting. Over half way through 2012, however, things really are on the move at the retailer.

For starters, it has become a business that is prepared to shout about novelty, inviting inspection by outside bodies. It has good reason to do so. Last week, it unveiled a new-look store in Crawley, West Sussex, under the new fascia Wilko. This is a fresh incomer for the 1950s new town that was, at one point, famous for having zero unemployment, thanks to its proximity to Gatwick Airport – to which, overwhelmingly, it continues to provide labour.

Visit the town centre today, however, and there is a sense that Crawley has seen better days. Therefore, the arrival of Wilko in a two-floor, 28,000 sq ft site formerly occupied by value department store TJ Hughes is a shot in the arm.

The store’s exterior, created by architect Child Graddon Lewis, is clad in stained wood, giving the building a contemporary feel when set against the neighbouring structures, almost all of which look their age. A walk around the outside reveals that, while the value message is very clear, visual merchandising equally plays a major part.

Brand controller Barry Underdown says that this pilot project is about “stamping our personality on the store” and the windows make it hard to disagree. As Wilko is situated “on Broadway”, the concept of theatre has been key to the opening. One of the windows features a graphic announcing ‘fruits and skin therapy’ surrounded by dressing room lights. This is combined with parted red stage curtains and the beauty products are beneath the graphic – a homage to Crawley’s star-struck avenue.

Familiar figures

The other displays around the building are perhaps more what you might expect of the retailer, with turbaned Mrs Mop-style figures carrying out a variety of tasks, from ironing to wall-papering, beneath the imperative ‘fill your space’.

This is a world away from the utilitarian face of Wilkinson in other locations, where the white-on-red logo dominates everything else. And before heading indoors, it is worth noting that the logo is now dull steel-coloured and uses the wood cladding as its backdrop, with a supplementary sign stating ‘your local crawley store’ in tasteful lower case.

Whether this is an offer that is specific to the town is open to debate, but initial impressions are that while it is value-led, it doesn’t feel it. Head of marketing Fiona Gunn says: “We have put a huge amount of effort into our product over the last two to three years and during that time we have moved on the quality substantially as well.”

Japanese inspiration

Walk through the doors, look left and the claim gains credence with what Underdown describes as a “Paperchase-like offer, but much cheaper”. This is a white space, like the rest of the interior, with a mix of cream and bronze-coloured metal-framed fixtures.

As with the best shop equipment, however, you don’t really notice the fixtures much as it’s the stock that takes centre stage. There are a couple of slim metal fixtures standing tall on spindly legs that are home to the bulk of the greetings cards offer. These look slick and Underdown says that he and Gunn got the idea following a research visit to Tokyo last year.

And in this part of the store, there is also the first evidence of a trope that is followed across both floors – outsize, tongue-in-cheek graphics that act as navigation aids at high level around the perimeter. In this instance, the message states ‘tidy it, store it, stack it’ and uses a handwritten-style font to indicate the nature of the offer just behind the mid-shop stationery.

Take a walk around the rest of this large floor and signs such as ‘chop it up and chuck it in’ (kitchenwares), ‘come rain or shine’ – accompanied by a washing line with clothes (indicating household cleaning powders and such like) – and ‘nipped in for the nipper?’ (nappies), all point to Wilkinson’s new sense of fun.

There are three other major elements on this floor – the cash desk, with a huge ‘check it out!’ graphic in yellow, a beauty area, which offers brands but also seeks to promote own-label, and a click-and-collect counter. Click-and-collect forms an important part of this store, with out-of-hours collection possible while the shop is shut but being restocked. The own-brand push is part of a strategy to move private label from 46% to 50% of the turnover, according to Underdown.

Clear direction

Now head upstairs and homewares, gardening and DIY dominate. Once more, it’s the graphics that tell the story and it would be hard not to find what you might be looking for. There are also Pantone-like colour boards around the home decorating part of the perimeter, intended to help budding DIYers to colour-match wallpaper, paints and furnishings. There’s even a project table where shoppers can relax and consider what they might be about to buy.

All of which is considerably more premium than might be expected of Wilkinson. Gunn says: “We’ve tried to see things through our customers’ eyes.” She adds that the store is about “affordable design”.

When set against much of the rest of Crawley town centre’s offer, Wilko is refreshing and plays the multichannel card well. This is a pilot store and both Gunn and Underdown are at pains to emphasise that nothing on view is set in stone.

That said, it is clear that both are very enthusiastic about what has been carried out and anticipate it forming a partial template for other branches. Two more stores are set to open this year – in Pwllheli, North Wales, and Edmonton Green, North London, and it is reasonable to assume, given the amount of work that has gone into this shop, that something similar is likely to appear in those locations.

There are, however, 367 Wilkinson stores across the country and it is equally reasonable to assume that the process of exporting the Crawley show pony to other locations will proceed at a more measured pace.

Haste may have to be made. Wilkinson revealed a 62.6% fall in profits last week – surely a good time for a rethink.

Wilko, Crawley

Location Broadway, Crawley

Size 28,000 sq ft

Design Predominantly in-house

Exterior Child Graddon Lewis

Builders ISG

Fit-out New Store Europe and Itab

Branding Jupiter Design