All 400 Wilko stores to close by early October including 17 in London
Every Wilko store across the UK will have closed it's doors by early October, the GMB Union has said.
A rescue deal for the family-owned chain has fallen through, meaning redundancies are likely for 12,500 staff. It's thought no bidders want to keep running the stores under Wilko's name, but some would be keen to rebrand.
Among these was HMW owner Doug Putnam, who's said to have wanted to keep 300 stores open, but his bid fell through amid rising running costs.
In a statement to The Sun newspaper, Mr Putman said: “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.”
Wilko, which employed around 12,500 staff, had already announced a £13 million deal to sell 51 shops to B&M, although the rival discounter has not agreed to take on Wilko workers as part of the deal.
The chain announced in August that it had fallen into administration.
Nadine Houghton from the GMB Union 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."
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