Derby city centre wilko branch closes doors as family brand set to disappear from high street

A Derby wilko branch has closed its doors with a poster now in its window announcing its closure.

The last day of trading for the Derby city centre branch at Victoria Chambers, London Road, was Sunday October 8.

Although shelves were bare and empty of goods, there seemed to be some activity as lights were on and some staff in uniform could be seen inside.

There appeared to be some confusion over whether Derby city centre branch was open.

When Derby World approached wilko to confirm closure of the Derby store we were told: ‘Derby store appears to be closed. Please accept my apologies for any disappointment.’

When asked if the closure was definite and not ‘appears to be closed’, a response from a wilko representative was: ‘Sadly, the reason is that we have not yet received confirmation of store closures in Derby.’

We were then asked to check the store ourselves as the customer representative said: ‘You are able to confirm for yourself if you do wish to check. Once again I extend my apologies for the inconvenience.’

There was poster on the window that announced the store closure.

The beleaguered brand has been closing its 400 stores across the country over the past 30 days after falling into administration in August.

The 93-year-old budget retailer is said to be making almost all of its 12,500 workforce redundant.

Founded in Leicester in the 1930s, the once popular brand has faced recent financial challenges.

These include cash flow problems when it deferred supplier payments last year and requested landlords to amend monthly rents.

The final blow came earlier this month when credit insurers Atradius and Allianz pulled its cover.

At the time of wilko’s collapse, it is said to have owed £625m, including £548m to unsecured creditors.

According to Sky News, wilko’s unsecured creditors will receive as little as 4p in the pound of the money they are owed, as per administrators PwC’s first estimates.

There has been highly publicised talk about takeovers from other discount homeware rivals The Range and B&M.

In September, The Range bought the wilko website, brand and intellectual property for £5m.

Approximately 120 wilko stores were also sold to rivals B&M and Poundland, however these have yet to materialise.

The Times reports that proposed deals by B&M and Poundland, to acquire 100 stores could collapse as potential buyers aim to renegotiate ‘more favourable’ terms with landlords.