Wilkinson wants 500 stores

Wilkinson has revealed ambitious plans to increase its number of stores to 500 by 2012.

The general merchandise retailer currently has 281 outlets but is looking to move into Scotland and possibly also enter overseas markets. It says that in the UK only 18% of consumers currently shop in its stores. The company has also relaunched its transactional website, with a greatly-increased offer of 800,000 products.

Wilkinson recently announced an 88% leap in annual pre-tax profit to £48.4m; sales rose 9.7% to £1.3b.