Full list of 52 Wilko stores closing for good this week – is your local shutting?
DOZENS of Wilko stores are shutting their doors have good this week in the first round of closures.
A total of 52 sites will be pulling down the shutters, with more than 1,000 jobs being axed.
Twenty-four branches will shut on September 12 followed by a further 28 stores two days later on September 14.
Each of the stores will close for the final time at the end of the working day.
These shop closures alone will result in 1,016 job losses across the retail staff.
Further redundancies were also made last week including 229 roles at two distribution centres.
Announcing the closures last week, administrators thanked staff for their support and said they “remain committed” to helping those affected.
It comes as hope remains that as many as 200 stores could still be saved as talks with HMV’s owner Doug Putman have ramped up.
Plus, major Wilko rival B&M agreed to snap up up to 51 stores in a £13million deal.
Here is the full list of Wilko stores closing on Tuesday:
- Acton
- Aldershot
- Barking
- Bishop Auckland
- Bletchley FF
- Brownhills
- Camberley
- Cardiff Bay Retail Park
- Falmouth
- Harpurhey
- Irvine
- Liverpool Edge Lane
- Llandudno
- Lowestoft
- Morley
- Nelson
- Port Talbot
- Putney
- Stafford
- Tunbridge Wells
- Wakefield
- Weston-super-Mare
- Westwood Cross
- Winsford
The following sites will shut on Thursday:
- Ashford
- Avonmeads
- Banbury
- Barrow in Furness
- Basildon
- Belle Vale
- Burnley (Relocation)
- Clydebank
- Cortonwood
- Dagenham
- Dewsbury
- Eccles
- Folkestone
- Great Yarmouth
- Hammersmith
- Huddersfield
- Morriston
- New Malden
- North Shields
- Queen Street Cardiff
- Rhyl
- Southampton-West Quay
- St Austell
- Stockport
- Truro
- Uttoxeter
- Walsall
- Woking
Doubts had grown about whether a wider rescue of Wilko would be possible after Mr Putman faced resistance from suppliers who had been demanding upfront payment.
Mr Putman, who rescued HMV in 2019 and owns ToysRUs in Canada, is now understood to have reached agreeable terms with suppliers.
Even if a deal is agreed though further store closures and job losses are still likely.
For now all of the remaining stores are continuing to operate as usual, and are still offering discounts in Wilko’s “everything must go” sale.
As yet it has not been revealed which of Wilko’s 400 stores have been bought by B&M, and it’s thought that the shops will likely be rebranded.
The discount chain said more information on the new store openings will be issued alongside its half-year financial results on November 9.
The first wave of job cuts took place early last week, with a total of 269 support centre team member roles being axed at its Worksop site.
Another 14 jobs at Kin Limited, a subsidiary of Wilko, have also been cut after it too fell into administration.
It brings the total jobs lost so far to more than 1,500.
Wilko collapsed on August 10 after the struggling retailer failed to find new backing for the business.
The company borrowed £40million in 2022 from Hilco as well as cutting jobs and restructuring the leadership of the business.
Wilko’s collapse is a “massive blow” to the retail sector and staff, but some experts say “the clock has been ticking” for a while.
Chief executive officer, Mark Jackson, previously said the company had “left no stone unturned” in a bid to save the chain.
In an emotional open letter to all staff and heartbroken shoppers, Mr Jackson thanked them for their support.
Meanwhile, retail experts have revealed what went wrong with Wilko ahead of the store closures this week.
Plus, for a complete history of the brand and its founder, see our story.
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