Wilko has launched an “everything must go” sale, with significant discounts on Christmas decorations and Halloween gear months before the seasonal events, as administrators try to secure a rescue deal for the collapsed retailer.
No bidder is expected to take on the entire 400-store chain, which entered administration last week after running short of cash, but several buyers are looking at parcels of stores, and it is hoped that at least part of the chain can be rescued.
With a number of offers for different parts of the business, which employs almost 12,500 people, on the table, talks are expected to drag on well into next week.
Andy Prendergast, a national secretary of the GMB union, which represents thousands of Wilko workers, said he believed there were “genuine grounds for hope” about some kind of rescue deal.
He said the union had met administrators and confirmed there were early-stage discussions with organisations “who are considering taking over at least some parts of the business”.
“While this process continues, staff will continue to be paid and kept on,” he said. “All stores are continuing to trade, and deliveries of new stock will continue.”
Stores were expected to be restocked next week, as shelves began to empty in many areas on Thursday and Friday. Administrators began to clear seasonal items that had been held in warehouses – Christmas decorations are being sold at half-price, Halloween items at up to 30% off and there are large discounts on homeware and toys.
The company no longer allows shoppers to pick up online orders in-store, having stopped home deliveries last week as stocks began to run low.
Potential suitors for the shops include Poundland, B&M, Primark and Home Bargains, which could take on up to 50 stores each.
Bidders that could rescue the Wilko brand, and at least part of the chain, include Hilco, which holds £40m of the chain’s debt secured partly against the retailer’s brand name, the Bensons for Beds owner, Alteri, and the Laura Ashley owner, Gordon Brothers, although it is not clear if any have put forward a formal bid. The British private equity group OpCapita has also been named as a potential suitor.
If no rescue deal is secured, dozens of stores could be left empty on high streets across the country.
Of the 36 stores Wilko has closed over the past decade, 17 remain vacant, according to analysis by the Local Data Company for the Guardian.
Four sites were demolished for redevelopment into a variety of uses, including housing, a tram station and a park, while the rest had been taken on by a variety of occupiers, from the retail chains Primark, Home Bargains, Savers and Aldi to two Jobcentres and a YMCA charity shop.
