Aug 31, 2023
Wilko: HMV owner Doug Putman moving closer to rescue deal
The owner of HMV is edging closer to a deal to buy collapsed discounter Wilko, saving thousands of jobs and the majority of shops, the BBC understands. Doug Putman plans to keep up to 300 of the current 400 Wilko shops open if he succeeds in buying the chain. Administrators at PwC said on Thursday that 269 jobs at the chain's support centre in Worksop and 14 others from a subsidiary firm of Wilko would be cut at the close of business on Monday 4 September. Shoppers in Birkenhead, Merseyside told the BBC that they would miss their Wilko store if it were to close. Wilko stepped into the gap on the High Street left by the collapse of Woolworths in late 2008, but has struggled over the past decade partly due to growing competition from the likes of Poundland and B&M. Many of Wilko's stores are also on High Streets in traditional town centres, which became an expensive liability as customers shifted to bigger retail parks and out-of-town locations.
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