British retail chain Wilko closes all stores

In Great Britain, the long-established household goods chain Wilko is facing the end of its operations one month after filing for insolvency. According to PwC, the consulting firm entrusted with the insolvency administration, the closure of all 408 Wilko stores, the two distribution centers and the discontinuation of a large part of the customer center activities will begin.

All Wilko stores are to cease operations by October, with a total of around 12,000 employees set to lose their jobs. Earlier, talks on a possible rescue of Wilko between PwC and the owner of the HMV music retail chain, Canadian Doug Putman, had broken down.

A 13 million pound deal struck by the discount retailer B&M last week to save 51 properties did not include saving staff jobs, as the deal was only for the sites the retailer occupies.

Wilko had been founded in Leicester in 1930 as a hardware store and had expanded rapidly. The chain made sales of 1.2 billion euros in the fiscal year ending January 2022.