There will be lots of freebies when home and garden retailer Wilko opens a bigger Chester store on Thursday of next week (March 3).

The new 18,000 sq ft store is located in the former Marks and Spencer menswear store in Foregate Street.

Wilko says the existing 20-year-old store, which is further along Foregate Street, will close the day before the enlarged unit opens.

Related story: Huge Chester Wilko store to open in old M&S outlet

Wilko Chester store manager Chris Hackney said: “Chester is a beautiful city and relocating to our new location will provide strong opportunities for our business to grow alongside other popular high street retailers.

“The team has worked extremely hard to get our new, bigger store ready and we are looking forward to opening the doors and welcoming both returning and new customers.

“We are confident that our wide range of quality products at low prices will continue to attract customers and the prime location should set us in good stead for the future.”

Children's hospice official to open store

A representative from Wirral-based Claire House Children’s Hospice has been invited to officially open the store.

To celebrate its new home, Wilko is giving away 50 Wilko hand blenders and Mother’s Day cards to the first 50 customers through the doors. The subsequent 50 customers will take away Mother’s Day-themed goody bags including a £5 Wilko gift card, a scented candle, a photo frame and a Mother’s Day card.

There will also be entertainment on the day as the store opening coincides with World Book Day. Families can bring their little ones along for photographs with Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and Spiderman.

There will also be a face painter on site to turn children into their favourite story character.

The current Chester Wilko store in Foregate Street will close on Wednesday March 2, the day before the bigger outlet opens nearby

If locals can’t make the store opening, then on Saturday, March 5 Wilko is hosting a family fun day when the first 100 customers will receive a Mother’s Day-themed goody bag, with five bags including a golden ticket for a £50 Wilko gift voucher.

There will also be in-store activity by a balloon artist ‘and much more’.

'Student Survival' pack freebies

Wilko is also hosting a special Student Sunday on March 13, when 50 ‘Student Survival Cleaning Packs’ will be handed out to the first 50 students through the doors, and the first 100 customers in store will receive a free product when they spend more than £5.

Founded in 1930 as Wilkinson Stores by J K Wilkinson, Wilko is one of the UK’s largest retailers. The new Wilko Chester store is the family business’ 384th store in the UK.

Related story: River Island opens in old Chester M&S store

The Wilko store opening follows last November’s launch of fashion retailer River Island in the unit next door, which was also a relocation, from its previous Newgate Row address in Grosvenor Shopping Centre.