The shelves of Wilko on Brownhills High Street were largely bare on Tuesday, as shoppers roamed the aisles for bargains in the hours before this West Midlands branch of the discount retailer closed its doors for the final time.
There were just a paltry few gummy sweets left on the pick and mix stall – now 50% off – while the remaining goods for sale included a mixture of Halloween decorations, gardening gloves, children’s craft items and dog toys.
The store was one of at least 24 closing for good on Tuesday, with more closing on Thursday, and all 408 Wilko outlets to shut by early October leading to the loss of 12,000 jobs.
“You could get everything here,” lamented Valmae Hassall, 75. “I used it a lot. I bought all sorts – electrical goods, cooking stuff, gardening stuff, toiletries.
“I mainly came today to say I’m sorry that they’re going because I know such a lot of the staff – one person has been there for 16 years. It’s disgusting what’s happened to them. And when you look at the high street now, what have you got? Nail salons, barbers, pizza shops.”
A former mining town north of Walsall, Brownhills has suffered from economic decline for decades, ever since the pits which provided most of the jobs in the town closed in the 1950s.
There have been various attempts at regeneration over the years, but none have quite had the desired effect. Further down the high street from Wilko lies Ravens Court, a former shopping precinct that has sat derelict for years now blighted by flytipping and vandalism. There are now plans to turn it into an Aldi superstore.
Just a few doors down from Wilko, a vacant former Shoezone is being advertised to let, one of a number of sites closed by the company post-Covid. Shoppers said the loss of Wilko was a particularly tough blow.
“It’s just always been Wilko. It’s going to be weird not having it. Wherever I’ve lived, it’s been there,” said 22-year-old Grace, shopping with her friend Megan, 21. “I used to get everything from here. Mainly lots of craft stuff for my son, it was great for that, now I’ll have to find somewhere else.”
The pair had picked up a number of last-minute bargains, including decorative Halloween pumpkins, a picture-hanging kit and a duvet set.
Grace, who recently lost her job at a pub down the road which closed down, said she was sad for the staff, and concerned about where they might find new jobs in the current economic climate.
“It seems like everyone is losing their job on this high street. First Shoezone went, now it’s Wilko, it feels like all the well-known shops are disappearing. What’s going to be left of the high street now?”
“It’s one of the oldest stores in the area, and now it will probably end up being a Poundland or something,” said 49-year-old Karen Smith. “I feel sorry for the staff mainly because obviously a lot of them have worked here a long time.”
Not everyone agreed it would be a huge loss though, with some commenting Wilko prices had risen in recent years.
“Honestly, I don’t normally shop at Wilko because it’s quite expensive. I use Amazon a lot – it’s cheaper. I’m only here today because I saw online that it was closing down so I came for the bargains,” said one mum-of-three, who asked not to be named.
“If they had these sorts of prices all the time, I would come here quite a lot. It’s of course sad for the staff but personally, it’s no loss for me. I think it’s had its time, it’s just too expensive.”
