Wilkinson is launching an upmarket own brand range of home and kitchenware products to be rolled out from October 2011.


The 'Wilkinson' range will have an initial launch of more than 100 products, including towels, bed linen, cooking utensils cutlery and premium glassware.

The company has released its annual review, where it reported a fall in pre-tax profits from £65m to £61m for the year to January 2011.

Turnover for the period was held at £1.6bn, while gross profit went up from ££615m to £632m.

Operating profit was £58m for the period, compared with the company's record operating profits of £63m in 2010. A statement from chief executive Stuart Mitchell said that while the decline was disappointing, "this represents a strong performance given the trading conditions during the year and the pressures arising from commodity prices, the increase in VAT and the dollar exchange rate."

Own brand is certainly a focus for the company, which saw sales of own brand products jump 10% on last year. In 2010 the retailer relaunched its Wilko core gardening range, and has further extended its 'everyday value' range to more than 450 products.

Now in its 80th year of trade, Wilkinson continued with its rebranding exercise started last year, giving 80 existing stores the new look and opening 14 new stores under the new fascia - nine in England and five in Scotland.

The company says it has seen a 4% increase in sales from the rebranded stores alone during the period, and intents to continue the rollout at a similar pace, with about 90 stores being rebranded each year.

In a joint statement in the company's annual review, family director Karin Swann and Lisa Wilkinson said: "Despite having a second consecutive year of difficult trading conditions we have seen our business continue to grow and develop, which has only been made possible through the hard work, pride and passion shown by our team members."

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