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Blackwood’s Wilko store has closed its doors for the final time, as around 100 people turned up in the rain to thank staff and wish them well.
The 20 staff members were told on Monday September 11 they had a week to find a new job, after an attempted rescue deal from Doug Putman, the owner of entertainment retailer HMV, to save Wilko fell through.
Deputy manager Jack Lewis asked the community to meet outside the store on Blackwood High Street to mark its closure and thank the staff on Sunday September 17.
Speaking to Caerphilly Observer, Mr Lewis said: “It was special to see so many people come out and I’d like to thank all of our customers for supporting the staff through this.
“For us its been a confusing week. One minute we thought we were safe then the next we were told we’d be closing.
“We’ve stuck together though and the community has been great, Caesars and Mckenzies have both offered jobs without an interview.”
Mr Lewis added how he is also concerned more generally about the state of Blackwood High Street now that the retail giant, which opened its first store in 1930, is shut. He said: “If you look at this end of the high street there aren’t a lot of shops and footfall is going to decrease.
“I worry for the other businesses in the area.”
Wilko, which fell into administration last month, has 400 stores across the UK.
Mayor of Caerphilly County Borough, Cllr Mike Adams, was in attendance and offered some words to the crowd of around 100 who all clapped and thanked the emotional Wilko staff.
He said: “The last time I was at a business I was there to open it, now tragically I’m here today to see the closure of one.
“This store has been a part of Blackwood for over 30 years and to see it go is a terrible thing and we hope to see it replaced with something in the near future.
“It’s an especially difficult time for the staff and we will do whatever we can to offer support in their transition.”
In a statement last Monday, administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers said a plan to save Wilko fell through because of the “the inability to reduce central infrastructure costs quickly enough to make a deal commercially viable”.
Also at the store’s closure was independent ward councillor for Blackwood, Andrew Farina-Childs. He said: “It’s a very sad day for Blackwood and the staff. This has been a cornerstone of the high street for many years and I’ve personally shopped here myself.
“Jobs like this are hard to come by and to lose this is detrimental to Blackwood as a whole.
“I’d just like to thank the staff for all their hard work over the years and say that I hope they find positions, hopefully in Blackwood, very soon.”
Fellow councillor Kevin Etheridge has dubbed the closure as ‘Blackwood’s darkest hour’, and described the situation as “very sad” for all of the staff, residents, and community.
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