Wilko is set to shut its final shops tomorrow as the stalwart retailer bids farewell to high streets across the UK once and for all.
The retailer has been shutting down 400 shops across the country bringing nearly 12,000 job losses for its staff in recent weeks. The retailer went into administration in August and failed to secure a rescue deal for the business.
Empty shelves and discounted bargains have become the norm in its branches as just 41 remain open today. It will shut its last remaining stores at the end of the day on Sunday (October 8).
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The once adored retailer, which sold goods from beauty products to gardening wares and plants, called in administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the summer after running short of cash. Shops closed within weeks, although there was hope of a buyout.
PwC then held talks with interested firms but was unable to secure a rescue deal for the whole firm, with a potential takeover by HMV owner Doug Putman collapsing. As a result, administrators sold off a raft of the company's assets in order to pay off creditors, reports The Mirror.
Deserted store shelves soon became the norm as any last remaining products were sold off cheap in order to recover cash to help repay Wilko's outstanding debts. The first wave of closures took place earlier in September seeing 176 of the outlets shut up shop.
Deals were agreed to sell up to 71 stores to Poundland, and to sell up to 51 shops to fellow rival discounter B&M. However, both deals did not include staff.
Last week, Poundland said it had offered jobs to more than 200 former Wilko workers and has already reopened 20 of these sites under its brand. The final Wilko stores will close this weekend.
Here's the full list of Wilko stores closing this Sunday:
- Neath, Neath Port Talbot
- Bromley, London
- Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire
- Cardiff, Wales
- Selby, North Yorkshire
- Arnold, Nottinghamshire
- Portsmouth, Hampshire
- Oswestry, Shropshire
- Chester, Cheshire
- Hucknall, Nottinghamshire
- Ayr, South Ayrshire
- Widnes, Cheshire
- Horsham, West Sussex
- Birkenhead, Merseyside
- Kingston Centre, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
- Parkgate, Rotherham, South Yorkshire
- Perry Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands
- Castleford, West Yorkshire
- Porthmadog, Caernarfonshire
- Brighouse, West Yorkshire
- Chelmsley Wood, West Midlands
- Swansea, Wales
- Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
- Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
- Silverlink, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear
- Chesterfield, Derbyshire
- Sutton, Surrey
- Derby, Derbyshire
- Scarborough, North Yorkshire
- Crystal Peaks, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Plymouth, Devon
- Ely, Cambridgeshire
- Loughborough, Leicestershire
- Liverpool, Merseyside
- Stratford, London
- Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
- Coventry, West Midlands
- Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Exeter, Devon
- Luton, Bedfordshire
- Wood Green, London
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