Wilko reveals dates for final store closures as collapse of historic retailer comes to a close: Full list revealed
Wilko is to shut the doors of its last remaining stores on Sunday October 8 as the collapse of the historic retailer comes to a close.
The hardware and furnishings retailer tumbled into administration last month after it came under pressure from weak consumer spending and debts to suppliers.
The retailer will shut its final 111 stores in early October as part of the final phase of closures, administrators for PwC said.
However the cost-cutting retailer will not disappear entirely from the UK high street after The Range agreed to buy Wilko’s brand, website and intellectual property, with plans to sell the acquired brand in its stores.
The retailer came under pressure from weak consumer spending and debts to suppliers (Joe Giddens/PA)
Wilko’s, formerly known as Wilkinson’s, has been owned by the family for nearly a century, ever since they first opened it as a single hardware store on 151 Charnwood Street, Leicester in 1930.
The store which was originally founded by James Kemsey Wilkinson in 1930, employed 12,500 workers before its collapse.
On August 3, Wilko had filed a notice of intention with the High Court, meaning 12,500 and 400 jobs faced being cut.
Despite the company hurdling towards administration, its CEO Mark Jackson stated that Wilko had received ‘a significant level of interest’ and that discussions would continue with interested parties.
He continued: ‘We continue to believe that our robust turnaround plan, with significant re-stabilisation cost savings in progress, will deliver a profitable Wilko and maximise the significant opportunities that we know exist.’
However despite hopes of a robust plan, the cost cutting retailer will have to shutter the last of its remaining stores on October 8.
A week later, on August 10, the cost cutting retailer officially announced it was heading into administration, as concerns were raised the British high street stalwart was on the brink of collapse.
The high street store’s demise has been boiled down to issues regarding long term investment as well as issues with stock, according to Catherine Shuttleworth, founder of retail analysis firm Savvy Marketing.
She told the BBC: ‘It should have been Wilko’s time to shine, with the Cost of Living crisis going on and shoppers looking for a bargain’.
But issues had been occurring for a period of the time for the former hardware store.
Times had become so tough for the retailer that they were looking into company voluntary arrangements that would see landlords of Wilko stores go without rent for three years.
Wilko had also previously received a loan of £40 million at the beginning of the year from a retail investor named, Hilco, who also owns Homebase.
The closure of the remaining discount chain stores come shortly after it was announced a rescue deal from HMV owner Doug Putman fell apart.
The businessman, who hails from Canada, was reportedly in talks for weeks regarding a deal that could have saved hundreds of stores and jobs.
Mr Putman told MailOnline: ‘It is with great disappointment that we can no longer continue in the purchase process for Wilko having worked with administrators and suppliers over several weeks to seek a viable way to rescue it as a going concern.
Sources alleged that they ‘tried very hard to make it work but it had been just too difficult with running costs and suppliers, it was always going to be a challenge.’
The main roadblock stopping the deal was reportedly the price tag of moving the discount chain’s old legacy supply chain to a new system.
It has been announced Poundland will take over up to 71 of the 400 Wilko leases after the deal fell through.
Fellow discount store, B&M, has also agreed to buy up to 51 Wilko stores whilst in discussions with PwC.
– The following stores will shut on Tuesday October 3:
Hounslow, Greater London
St Albans, Hertfordshire
Dunstable, Bedfordshire
Weston Favell, Northampton
Bristol
Lancaster, Lancashire
Leeds Trinity, West Yorkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Poole, Dorset
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Washington, Newcastle upon Tyne
Hitchin, Hertfordshire
Chatham, Kent
Southend, Essex
Metro Centre, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
Epsom, Surrey
Cannon Park, Coventry, Warwickshire
Norwich, Norfolk
Preston, Lancashire
Canterbury, Kent
Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey
Carlisle, Cumbria
Barnsley, South Yorkshire
Kingswood, Bristol
Colchester, Essex
Ilford, Greater London
Maidstone, Kent
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
– The following stores will shut on Thursday October 5:
Bishop Stortford, Hertfordshire
Tottenham Hale, Greater London
Worthing, West Sussex
Romford, Greater London
Selly Oak, Birmingham
Wembley, London
Birstall, West Yorkshire
Uxbridge, Greater London
Burton, Staffordshire
Lee Circle, Leicester, Leicestershire
West Ealing, London
Blackburn, Lancaster
Bexleyheath, Greater London
The Beacon Eastbourne, East Sussex
Weymouth, Dorset
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire
Beaumont Leys, Leicester, Leicestershire
Hinckley, Leicestershire
Livingston, Scotland
Chelmsford, Essex
Riverside Shopping Centre, Northampton, East Midlands
Sittingbourne, Kent
Stourbridge, West Midlands
Manchester, Greater Manchester
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Deepdale, Preston, Lancashire
Basingstoke, Hampshire
Clifton Moor, York, North Yorkshire
Burgess Hill, West Sussex
Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway
Harrow, London
Tooting, London
Telford, Shropshire
Ipswich, Suffolk
St James Retail Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Nottingham, Midlands
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Bulwell, Nottinghamshire
Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
Frenchgate Shopping Centre, Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Clifton, Bristol
– The following stores will shut on Sunday October 8:
Neath, Neath Port Talbot
Bromley, London
Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire
Cardiff, South Glamorgan
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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