Wilko beauty brand loved by shoppers on the brink of collapse following bargain chain
A WILKO beauty brand loved by shoppers is on the brink of collapse following the bargain chain crashing into administration.
The company behind cosmetic brand Skin Therapy has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators.
Kin is a sister company of beloved discounter Wilko, which is searching for a rescue buyer in the hope of saving hundreds of shops and thousands of jobs.
The business creates a range of products for Wilko and other stores, including B&Q.
The Skin Therapy brands is popular with Wilko shoppers and known for beauty bargains like sun cream, face wipes and skincare, with prices starting from just 65p.
Wilko customers have praised its baby wipes, which are plastic free, as “amazing” and affordably priced, and called its 80p lip balm “the best”.
Kin Ltd, which is privately owned by the Wilkinson family, is said to be close to collapse.
Kin has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, TheBusinessDesk.com reports, giving it 10 days protection from creditors and to find new backing.
The Sun has contacted the company for comment, but multiple calls and messages went unresponded.
Another brand made by the company, Clever Pots, is sold at Wilko as well as B&Q, Amazon and independent garden centres.
However, it appears multiple products in the range are listed as out of stock on the DIY giant’s website.
Kin was set up in 2020 and takes its name from the kin in Wilkinson, which is the original name of the troubled chain.
It was previously called Wilko Brands Limited and was set up to create products to be sold at Wilko as well as other retailers, with a focus on home and garden items.
According to its latest accounts filed in November 2022, Clever Pots were stocked in 129 B&Q stores and Skin Therapy in more than 875 independent pharmacies.
Kin reported a loss for the financial year to January 29, 2022 of £29.9million and said that trading conditions remained “challenging”, citing fragile consumer confidence, rising cost inflation and supply chain disruption.
At the time it said that it was securing financial support from Wilko which would keep it going until January 28, 2024, but that was not in place a the time of filing its accounts.
It concluded that there was “material uncertainty” over Wilko’s ability to offer this financial support, casting “significant doubt” over Kin’s ability to continue as a going concern.
If the company does file for administration it means all control of the business will be passed on to the appointed administrator – who has to be a licensed insolvency practitioner.
Their goal is to leverage the company’s assets and business to repay creditors.
It doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the business.
Instead, administrators will try to help a company find ways to repay debts or solve its cash flow problems.
Administration can last anywhere from a few weeks to up to a year or more.
But if the administration process can’t rescue the company or find a new owner, this usually leads to liquidation.
Liquidation is the process of selling all assets and then dissolving the company completely.
A separate but similar process is currently underway with Wilko after it appointed administrators.
Any potential rescue deal could take weeks to be agreed – leaving the future of 400 stores and 12,500 jobs up in the air.
Several potential buyers have shown an interest in Wilko’s business, one in particular could save as many as 300 branches from closing down and would preserve the most jobs.
But it is understood that early expressions of interest were mixed, and the majority of offers are for between 40 to 50 stores.
Discount retailers B&M, The Range, Poundland and Home Bargains have all expressed an interest, according to sources.
The Sun understands one of the potential bidders would be keen to keep the Wilko name.
Wilko launched a huge new sale last week with up to 50% off thousands of items including Christmas essentials and Halloween items.
The Sun spoke to two sales experts to find out what items are worth picking up in the sale – and the ones to steer clear of.
It comes as shoppers were left disappointed after spotting bare aisles in their local shop, despite the launch of the administration sale.
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