Wilko shoppers praise ‘magnificent’ staff and say high street ‘won’t be the same’ as final stores prepare to close
SHOPPERS are paying tribute to Wilko staff as the last remaining stores prepare to close for good.
The much-loved retailer will cease to be a fixture on the British high street by the end of this week.
Many stores have already shut down and the last remaining ones will close their doors on Sunday, October 8.
Devastated shoppers are taking to social media to offer their support to staff and share their thoughts on a high street without Wilko.
One fan of the Hounslow store which is due to close on Tuesday, October 3 said that the town just “won’t be the same without Wilko”.
Another person said: “Loved Wilko, they have some of the most friendliest staff.”
One ex-Wilko worker commented on the closure of the Lancaster store, they said: “Started at Wilko when it first opened in Lancaster over 30 years ago.
“Had great times and met some lovely friends who I still meet up with now.
“Feel so sorry for the staff, great bunch of people.”
Many also wrote about what a great loss the retailer is to the high street.
One Norwich shopper said: “Dreadfully sad, have bought many things from here.
“A tragic loss to the city. My thoughts have been with the staff who have been magnificent.”
While in Scarborough one shopper said they now have “little reason to go into town”.
Another Bristol resident described their local Wilko as “one of the most loved shops in Bristol” and said: “What is going to happen in our high streets if shops are disappearing.”
Wilko employees have also been thanking shoppers for their support.
Workers at the Abergavenny branch in Wales posted a thank you note in the store window, it read: “Thank you for shopping with us for the last 25 years.
“Our store will sadly be closing on October 5.
“Thank you again from all the team members at Wilko Abergavenny.”
Wilko was founded in 1930 and the chain has remained in the ownership of the Wilkinsons family since then.
Sadly the popular discounter collapsed on August 10 after failing to find a buyer for the business.
Administrators did agree a sale of the retailer’s brand name and website to The Range so the brand name will live on.
The website is set to reopen in October after all of the stores have shut.
Poundland also bought up 71 Wilko stores and said the former workers would be first in line for new jobs.
Rival discounter B&M also bought up 51 Wilko stores in a £13million deal.
All of the remaining stores have been slowly shutting up shop with the final wave of closures coming this week.
Below we reveal all of the Wilko closures happening this week.
Which Wilko stores are closing this week?
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
A major supermarket has revealed that it might take on some of the Wilko sites as part of a huge expansion.
Dunelm has also said it expects to snap up several of the former Wilko locations.