(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Signs have gone up for a high street giant that is moving into a former Poundstretcher store in County Durham
On Saturday (October 17), signs welcoming the new Wickes shop at a retail park in Bishop Auckland were spotted.
The home improvement retailer is moving into the Fylands Drive shop, just off the A688.
While signs have appeared, reading 'your new store is coming soon', there is no firm date for when people can expect to visit the new Wickes shop.
Signs have gone up for the new Wickes in Bishop Auckland (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
The store has remained closed since Poundstretcher closed for good on August 7, just months after the firm announced a restructuring plan to restore financial stability.
Wickes has long been expected to open a store in Bishop, with the firm initially striking a deal to open in the first phase of Bishop Auckland Retail Park.
However, while the likes of The Range, Home Bargains, and Nando’s have opened at the newly developed complex, this never came to fruition.
Signs have gone up for the new Wickes in Bishop Auckland (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Alongside the signs, which have been attached to the front of the shop and gates next to it, scaffolding and building work can be seen to the side of the new Wickes store.
Wickes is known for selling DIY products and home improvement building materials and tools for decorating everything from kitchens and bathrooms to gardens.
The brand was born in Michigan, in the US, in 1854 when Henry Dunn Wickes and his brother started a local lumber business before coming over to the UK in 1972.
Wickes has one store in County Durham, at St Andrews Park in Durham, plus sites at Pennywell Industrial Estate in Sunderland and Portrack Lane in Stockton.
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Poundstretcher shut during a turbulent period for the brand, just months after the High Court heard it would “likely have no choice” but to file for administration.
The company then presented a restructuring plan to restore Poundstretcher to “financial stability” and enable it to “implement the turnaround business plan”.
The firm said this was focused on “strengthening Poundstretcher’s long-term position and creating a company that can grow in the years ahead.