POUNDLAND and B&M are the latest chains to snap up dozens of Wilko stores.
A total of up to 122 will be reopened after all 400 Wilko shops shut for good in the coming weeks.
Poundland has agreed to buy up to 71 stores, which it will then rebrand and open as its own.
The sites are set to open before Christmas with Wilko employees to be given priority on job roles.
The shops will add to Poundland’s 800 UK branches, which includes a mixture of high street and retail park stores.
The news comes after a £13million deal with B&M was announced last week, with the chain agreeing to buy up to 51 stores.
It’s important to note that it hasn’t actually been revealed yet which of Wilko’s 400 stores have been bought by the discounter.
Locations of the stores and opening dates will be issued alongside B&Ms half-year financial results on November 9.
The buyout doesn’t include staff who work at Wilko and the shops will all be rebranded as B&Ms.
It means the Wilko name will vanish from the high street by October as all shops shut.
Here is the full list of Wilko stores which will reopen as Poundlands:
- Aberdare
- Alfreton
- Alnwick
- Altrincham
- Ammanford
- Ashby
- Barking
- Bedminster
- Beeston
- Bicester
- Bishop Stortford
- Bletchley
- Bolton
- Brentwood
- Brigg
- Cambridge
- Chepstow
- Coalville
- Cramlington
- Droitwich
- Eccles
- Edmonton Green
- Ellesmere Port
- Ferndown
- Gateshead
- Grays
- Greenock
- Grimsby
- Havant
- Hayes
- Headingley
- Hessle Road, Hull
- Hillsborough
- Hitchin
- Jarrow
- Killingworth
- Kimberley
- Lee Circle
- Leek
- Leigh
- Lichfield
- Maidenhead
- Matlock
- Melton Mowbray
- Nelson
- Northallerton
- Orton
- Pembroke Dock
- Peterlee
- Pontefract
- Pontypool
- Redhill
- Redruth
- Ripley
- Rugeley
- Sale
- Seaham
- Selly Oak
- Shrewsbury Darwin Centre
- South Shields
- Southport
- Stafford
- Stamford
- Stockport
- Thornaby
- Wellington
- Wembley
- West Ealing
- Wombwell
- Worcester
- Worksop
The Wilko brand will live on elsewhere as fellow discounter The Range has agreed a £5million deal today, according to insiders.
The Range, owned by Plymouth-based tycoon Chris Dawson, wants to sell Wilko branded goods in his discount stores and potentially keep a website.
All Wilko stores will now close for good after a major deal that would have saved stores and jobs collapsed in a huge blow to the high street.
The Sun exclusively reported that talks between PwC and HMV’s owner Doug Putman had fallen through over the weekend, dashing all hopes of a rescue.
The first 52 closures began on Tuesday, with 24 shops shutting for good and another 28 sites to close on Thursday resulting in over 1,000 redundancies.
A further 124 stores are due to shut next week with three separate rounds of closures taking place on Sunday 17, Tuesday 19 and September 21.
Administrators have said the closure dates for the remaining 222 shops will be announced in due time.
It’s expected that most sites will close in the coming weeks, leading to a further 9,100 employees losing their jobs in those stores.
Wilko’s collapse back in August has been seen as a “massive blow” to the retail sector and staff, although some experts have said “the clock has been ticking” for a while.
Chief executive officer, Mark Jackson, said that the company had “left no stone unturned” in a bid to save the company.
Shoppers have been left devastated after the beloved chain’s departure from the high street was announced.
Meanwhile, we reveal the full list of stores which have so far been signposted for closure.
And, to keep up to date with the latest see our live blog.
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September 13, 2023 at 07:38PM
from The Sun