Wilko stores start closing for good on Tuesday as family-owned retailer prepares to shut down

Wilko will begin shutting its doors for good on Tuesday, as the high-street retailer prepares to close down.

Stores across the country, from as far apart as Aldershot, Falmouth and Stafford, are among the 24 branches to shut, with a further 28 ceasing trading on Thursday.

Next week, another 124 more shops will go and the final 222 stores are all due to close by early next month.

Update:Poundland to take over up to 71 Wilko stores

Image: Customer Donovan Julies in a Wilko store in Acton, one of the 24 closing on Tuesday.

More than 1,000 staff will be made redundant this week, with all 12,500 of the company’s staff expected to lose their jobs as its 400 shops close.

It comes a day after administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said it had failed to find a buyer for the business who would take them on as Wilko shops and retain staff, but was still trying to sell the stores themselves.

On Monday, Sky News revealed a rescue deal for 100 outlets involving the owner of HMV had collapsed.

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Image: Empty shelves at the Acton branch of Wilko

Here are the 24 shops set to shut their doors on Tuesday:

Acton, London

Aldershot, Hampshire

Barking, London

Bishop Auckland, County Durham

Bletchley, Milton Keynes

Brownhills, Walsall

Camberley, Surrey

Cardiff Bay Retail Park

Falmouth, Cornwall

Harpurhey, Manchester

Irvine, North Ayrshire

Liverpool Edge Lane

Llandudno, Wales

Lowestoft, Suffolk

Morley, Leeds

Nelson, Lancashire

Port Talbot, Wales

Putney, London

Stafford, Staffordshire

Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Wakefield, 121 Kirkgate

Weston-super-Mare, Somerset

Westwood Cross Retail Park, Broadstairs, Kent

Winsford, Cheshire

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Last week, rival retailer B&M agreed to buy 51 Wilko stores in a deal worth up to £13m.

The premises will be re-branded and it is unclear if the discount chain will keep on or rehire any Wilko staff.

Wilko – owned by the founding Wilkinson family for decades – collapsed into administration last month under pressure from weak consumer spending, fierce competition from other discount chains, such as Poundland and The Range, and debts to suppliers.

All Wilko sites have continued to trade since then to sell remaining stock, with the retailer discounting thousands of products.