Bolton: Wilko staff give tearful goodbye after end of era

The shutters came down at 4pm as customers and staff came to get their last bits.

Wendy Close was the last customer to shop at the store and was also the last customer to shop in the Marks and Spencer café, and a Bolton town centre post office.

Wendy Close

Although she is sad to see it go she is hopeful for the next chapter, as the store is set to become Poundland.

One customer said it was a sad day for the town centre, and she shared her concerns over the future of the town centre.

She said: “I just think that the whole thing is very sad.

“I mean this is another Bolton institution that’s closed – a very useful shop and if you look around you Marks and Spencer across the road is shut, and three or four shops on that side are boarded up, and soon there will be no town centre.”

A shop worker said that despite the closure, staff remained in good spirits.

The shutter coming down at the store

He said: “They’re in really good spirits to be honest given the circumstances and everything they have been through in the last six weeks when we first found out.

“They have reacted really well, and they have been really strong.

“I was expecting a little bit more physical emotion today, but I think they have managed to keep it together, but I think in the next few minutes when we shut, I think we’ll see a few tears.”

Chetna Patel who has lived and worked in Bolton all her life said that she knew all the staff when the shop used to be Woolworths, and also came to know the staff in Wilko.

She said: “It’s just sad that the town centre is coming to what it is.

“It was a thriving town centre before.

“It’s really sad but I feel more upset for the staff there because they have put everything into it.

“But at least it’s still staying as a shop, which is something.”

Chetna Patel

Wilko entered administration early last month, after being founded in 1930.

The Bolton store on Deansgate will now be replaced by Poundland after Pepco sealed a deal which could see up to 71 Wilko stores reopened under the Poundland brand.

The store on Middlebrook Retail Park is also set to follow suit on Friday September 29 making it amongst the last round of branches to be closed.

Wilko has closed

It is not yet known if major retailer Poundland will also replace this store too.

Nationwide this will lead to a total of 1,016 redundancies.

It follows several well-known high street names leaving Bolton town centre including Marks and Spencer earlier this year.