All British retailer Wilko’s stores will close and more than 9,000 jobs will be lost

LONDON (Reuters) – Failed retailer Wilko will disappear from British high streets next month as its entire chain of home goods stores is expected to close with the loss of at least 9,100 jobs, they said. on Monday its administrators PwC.

Wilko, which began as a hardware store in 1930 in Leicester, central England, succumbed to Britain’s toughest economic environment and a cost of living crisis driven by high inflation and a series of interest rate rises.

“It has become clear that no significant part of Wilko’s operations can be rescued,” said PwC, which was appointed administrator of the family-owned budget retailer last month after Wilko failed to secure emergency funding to lift it out of a crisis. economical. trade.

PwC confirmed that 124 Wilko stores would close by September 21, while the timing for the closure of the remaining 222 stores has yet to be announced. The company’s distribution center operations are expected to close on Friday.

The GMB union, which has said it represents about 4,000 Wilko workers, said that in total Wilko’s collapse led to the layoffs of 12,500 employees, but did not provide a breakdown. Some job losses had been announced in recent weeks in addition to those announced on Monday.

“We continue to work with potential buyers for different parts of the business and are confident of completing the transactions in the coming days,” PwC said.

Earlier this month, London-listed retailer B&M (BMEB.L) reached a deal to buy 51 Wilko stores for up to £13 million ($16.26 million).

However, a deal could not be reached in time for the rest of the company, despite the efforts of Canadian businessman Doug Putman, owner of HMV music stores, and PwC, due to the inability to reduce costs. infrastructure fast enough to complete a transaction. viable, PwC said.

“This is not a causeless tragedy,” said GMB national officer Nadine Houghton. “Wilko should have thrived in an otherwise strong retail sector, but it was ruined by the business owners.”

($1 = 0.7993 pounds)

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