UK homeware retailer Wiko has warned that it’s on the verge of collapse, putting some 12,000 jobs at risk.
The privately owned company said it had filed a “notice of intention” to appoint administrators after failing to find enough emergency investment.
Chief executive Mark Jackson said it would continue to talk with interested parties about options for the business.
He said the company was left with no choice but to take this action, but hopes to find a solution as quickly as possible to preserve the business.
Wilko did not confirm in the announcement whether or not any jobs would be affected.
Andy Prendergast, national secretary at the GMB union, said that this was extremely concerning but that they remained hopeful that a buyer could be found.
He said that Wilko’s staff deserved reassurance that their jobs were safe and that they hoped this was the number one priority going forward.
Wilko added that it had received significant interest from investors and some offers, but none of them would have provided enough cash within the time needed.
Increasing interest rates, increased energy costs and squeezed consumer spending have all been weighing on retailers.
Shops including furniture retailer Made.com and clothing group Joules collapsed into administration last year, although both were offered rescue deals by High Street colossus Next.
But Wilko’s boss said that the company, which has an annual turnover of about £1.2 billion, had a ‘robust turnaround plan’ in place.
The discount chain has been struggling for months and had been considering a company voluntary arrangement, under which some of its landlords would have received no rent for three years.
After Mr Jackson joined the retailer late last year, the retailer announced that it would cut 400 jobs in an endeavour to cut costs.
At the time, the GMB union said the company was in a fight for survival.
Catherine Shuttleworth, founder of retail analysis firm Savvy Marketing, told the BBC that the announcement marked a sad day for a stalwart of the UK High Street.
She said that it should have been Wilko’s time to shine, but the Cost of Living Crisis going on and shoppers looking for a bargain, but she added that customers had been going to rivals such as Home Bargains, B&M and the Range as they looked for discounted food, household goods and garden items.
Longer-term problems at Wilko have been exposed, she said, with a lack of investment over time and issues with stock in recent months.
It would be such a shame to lose Wilko, but it’s not the only retail shop that’s had to close its doors since the COVID pandemic and the Cost of Living crisis.
If Wilko does close its doors, it will hit a lot of smaller towns extremely hard.
Shops just cannot compete with greedy councils stinging them with monstrous rates, and now shopping centres are being deserted, including shopping malls.
This would be a tragedy for local high streets. It’s a brilliant shop and people go there regularly, and there is something terribly wrong with the fundamental economics of retail, and now all businesses are being cut like a cutthroat razor.
Wilko is going the same way as Woolworths. However, we will see numerous shops close their doors soon.
Brexit is taking numerous prisoners, what a fiasco that has been.
High street shops are being lost and that’s because there’s been a shift in how people shop. Online shopping has become extremely popular with people buying what they want online because it’s easier and quicker and gets delivered directly to their door, so in effect, we have all had a hand in shutting down our high street shops, and of course, the Government are rubbing their hands together because this is what they wanted all along.
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