W
ilko has revealed the locations of its stores which will close for good next week, as the dramatic collapse of the high street chain takes shape.
Administrators at PwC announced earlier this month that all of the retailers 400 stores will close by early October, after a full rescue deal failed.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that 111 more stores will serve customers for a final time next week.
The chain officially began to lay staff off on September 12, as administrators confirmed all the group’s remaining shops, warehouse and support centre workers were set to lose their jobs.
Family-owned Wilko employed 12,500 staff and ran 400 shops before it hired administrators early last month after it came under pressure from weak consumer spending and debts to suppliers.
Billionaire owner of HMV Doug Putman said he had hoped to save a lot of stores and jobs, and was hoping to keep up to 300 Wilko shops open, but his bid has failed as rising costs complicated the deal.
B&M and Poundland have each made announcements confirming that they will save some stores and rebrand them under their own names. 71 Wilko shops will rebrand under Poundland, and 51 will become B&M stores.
Wilko CEO Mark Jackson said management had “left no stone unturned” in its efforts to preserve the business. He added: “But we must concede that, with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration.”
Why is Wilko closing stores?
The firm was unable to secure emergency funding to save its 400 stores throughout the UK.
Wilko has struggled in the economic climate and last year borrowed £40 million to stay afloat, changed its leadership team, and sold a distribution centre.
It also struggled to pay suppliers and this led to shoppers noticing gaps on its shelves.
Last year, the owners of the brand took £3 million in dividends despite the business falling almost £37 million into the red before the injection of £40 million.
Wilko is continuing to trade while in administration but overall control is with the administrator rather than former management.
When is Wilko closing down?
Business leaders behind Poundland, Primark, and Home Bargains were all reportedly in the running for a takeover bid but this appears to have failed and time has run out.
As of now, no decisions have been officially announced and many remaining Wilko stores are still operating. Announcements on closures and job losses are expected imminently.
Which stores are closing?
The following stores will shut on Monday September 25:
Altrincham, Greater Manchester
Ashton, Greater Manchester
Barry, WalesBridgwater, Somerset
Cleveleys, Lancashire
Cockermouth, Cumbria
Crossgates, Leeds
Darlington, County Durham
Dartford, Kent
Dereham, Norfolk
Giltbrook, Nottingham
Great Malvern, Worcestershire
Haverfordwest, Wales
Headingley, West Yorkshire
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
Ilkeston, Derbyshire
Killingworth, North Tyneside
Lichfield, Staffordshire
Louth, Lincolnshire
Market Drayton, Shropshire
Northfield, Birmingham
Oakham, Rutland
Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Ramsgate, Kent
Skelmersdale, Lancashire
Staines, Surrey
Strood, Kent
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Thamesmead, Greater London
Thetford, Norfolk
Trowbridge, Wiltshire
Walthamstow, Greater London
Warrington, Lancashire
Waterlooville, Hampshire
Winton, Dorset
Yiewsley, Greater London
The following stores will shut on Wednesday September 27:
Acocks Green, Birmingham, West Midlands
Alnwick, Northumberland
Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Armley, Leeds, West Yorkshire
Arnison-Durham, Durham, County Durham
Bedford, Bedfordshire
Blyth, Northumberland
Boston, Lincolnshire, East Midlands
Brentwood, Essex
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Chester Le Street, County Durham
Gillingham, Kent
Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Greenwich, London
Halesowen, Dudley, West Midlands
Harlow, Essex
Hartlepool, County Durham
Kidderminster, Worcestershire
Lewisham, London
Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
Meadowhall, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Motherwell, North Lanarkshire
Newark, Nottinghamshire
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
Rainham, London
Runcorn, Cheshire
Six Acre Shopping Centre, Sale, Greater Manchester
Salford, Greater Manchester
South Shields, Tyne and Wear
Sutton-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Thornaby, North Yorkshire
Watford, Hertfordshire
Wellington, Somerset
Whitehaven, Cumbria
Wigston, Leicestershire
Worksop, Nottinghamshire
Yeovil, Somerset
The following stores will shut on Friday September 29:
Allenton, Derby, Derbyshire
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Bedminster, Bristol
Biggleswade, Bedfordshire
Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset
Bull Ring, Birmingham, West Midlands
Chippenham, Wiltshire
Clowne, Derbyshire
Corby, Northamptonshire
Cowley, Oxfordshire
Dudley, West Midlands
Fareham, Hampshire
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gravesend, Kent
Hayes, Middlesex
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
Hull, East Yorkshire
Kenilworth, Warwickshire
Kettering, Northamptonshire
Kings Lynn, Norfolk
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Leek, Staffordshire
Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
Middlebrook, Bolton, Greater Manchester
Mildenhall, Suffolk
Newbury, Berkshire
Northallerton, North Yorkshire
Redditch, Worcestershire
Redhill, Surrey
Retford, Nottinghamshire
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rushden, Northamptonshire
Spalding, Lincolnshire
St Helens, Merseyside
Syston, Leicestershire
Wallasey, Merseyside
Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
Wilko is continuing to trade and has not announced any redundancies after formally entering insolvency last week (Sam Russell/PA)
/ Sam Russell / PA
How many Wilko stores are in London?
There are at least 26 Wilko shops in London. These are:
Kensington High Street
Fulham
Hammersmith
Putney
Tooting
Lewisham
Wood Green
Stratford
Acton
Tottenham Hale
Walthamstow
Edmonton Green
Barking
Ilford
East Ham
Greenwich
Thamesmead
Colindale
Wembley
Wimbledon
Penge
Sutton
New Malden
Kingston
Bromley
Bexleyheath
These are the London stores set to shut next week:
Thamesmead, Greater London
Walthamstow, Greater London
Yiewsley, Greater London
Greenwich, London
Lewisham, London
Rainham, London
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