Shops: Wilko on brink of collapse
Wilko is reportedly considering closing sites in a bid to cut costs after launching a ‘turnaround programme’ to ‘stabilise the business’ earlier this year. The retailer also announced it would be closing children’s toy departments earlier this year which shocked shoppers - but what does this mean for the retailer?
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NewsTranscript
00:00 High Street retailer Wilko is on the brink of collapse, it being announced that 12,000
00:04 jobs and 400 stores are at risk.
00:06 The privately owned firm, which sells everything from stationary to hardware items, has filed
00:11 notice of its intention to appoint administrators at the High Court.
00:15 This gives the value retail giant a 10-day window to secure a deal while protected from
00:19 action by other creditors.
00:21 Wilko started from a single hardware store in 1930.
00:24 It secured a £40m lifeline from Hilco UK, the owner of Homebase, at the beginning of
00:29 this year.
00:30 Wilko chief executive officer Mark Jackson said "While we can confirm we've had a significant
00:35 level of interest, including indicative offers that we believe would meet all of our financial
00:40 criteria to recapitalise the business, at present we don't today have an offer that
00:44 provides the necessary liquidity in the time we have available given the mounting cash
00:49 pressures we're faced with."
00:51 He went on to say "With this in mind, today we're taking the very difficult decision to
00:55 file a notice of intention."
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