Wrexham’s Wilko store to close next week, administrators confirm
Wrexham’s Wilko store will close next week, administrators have confirmed.
PwC, administrators acting on behalf of the high street retailer, confirmed that dozens of stores will close as early as Sunday 17 September after hopes of a last minute buy out fell through.
The Wrexham store, on Island Green, will close for good on Tuesday 19 September – with the final day for employees being Wednesday 20 September
It is amongst 124 across the UK which will close within the next seven days.
Timings for the closure of the remaining 222 stores will be announced in due course, PwC announced.
The closure of distribution centre (DC) operations is expected to take place on Friday 15 September, with the majority of the remaining 886 DC employees being made redundant on that date. Further redundancies of the remaining 210 support centre employees will take place during September and early October as operations wind down.
It is anticipated that all stores will be closed by early October, resulting in the redundancies of a further 9,100 employees in those stores.
Rival discount retailer B&M Bargains has confirmed it plans to buy 51 of the stores, which are expected to be rebranded as B&M stores.
Talks over buying the remaining high street retailer’s stores had been taking place with the owner of HMV. Sadly the talks fell through on Monday morning.
Zelf Hussain, joint administrator, said: “Despite the significant and intensive efforts of both ourselves and Putman Investments – the remaining party interested in buying a significant part of the business as a going concern – a transaction could not be progressed due to the inability to reduce central infrastructure costs quickly enough to make a deal commercially viable.
“The dedication shown by all team members during this period has been hugely humbling and we are grateful for the patience and understanding they have shown.
“As with those who have already been given notice of redundancy, we will guide and support those team members impacted over the coming weeks through the redundancy claims process.
” We also continue to collaborate closely with relevant agencies and engage with any potential employers to help facilitate a quick return into new employment for those impacted.
“We continue to work with potential buyers for different parts of the business and are confident of completing transactions in the coming days.”
Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer, said: “Wilko was far more than a brand, a retailer or the products it sold, it was the thousands of loyal team members now facing an uncertain future.
“Wilko may have ceased genuinely being a family brand many years ago, but the staff kept the real family ethos of Wilko alive until the very end.
“It is the family that Wilko colleagues made for themselves that will be missed the most.
“This isn’t a tragedy without cause. Wilko should have thrived in a bargain retail sector that is otherwise strong, but it was run into the ground by the business owners.
“Money was siphoned out of the business for dividends, warnings about what needed to be done to save the business were not heeded and advice around what the business to do to thrive was not listened to.
“No worker caused the downfall of Wilko. But they will be the ones who will suffer – all as the owners get off scot-free.
“GMB will not stop campaigning for the owners of this debacle to be held to account.”
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