Oxford’s Wilko store is resembling a ghost town, with scores of shelves lying bare and remaining stock either being removed by staff or being significantly reduced in price.
The Cowley store is now having a sale with between 10 to 50 per cent off everything, including Halloween and Christmas goods, but there is very little left for customers to buy.
Photos taken by the Oxford Mail show several areas of white metal shelving inside the store at the Templars Square Shopping Centre completely empty.
READ MORE: Children's splash park urgently CLOSED as bacteria found in water
A member of staff, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had not been told if the store is earmarked for closure or not.
This comes as administrators for Wilko have revealed the locations of 52 stores which will close after failing to secure a rescue deal for the whole business.
The list of stores set to close on Tuesday, September 12 includes its store in Banbury near the Castle Quay Shopping Centre.
READ MORE: 'Grave concerns' over crumbling concrete crisis at Oxfordshire schools
PwC, which was appointed to oversee the insolvency last month, said it remains in talks with parties interested in buying the remaining parts of the business.
It comes a day after rival retailer B&M bought up to 51 other Wilko stores in a deal worth up to £13 million.
Administrators added on Wednesday that “it is possible that further store closures may regrettably be necessary”, depending on talks with remaining suitors.
It is understood that HMV owner Doug Putman is still in discussions with PwC over a possible deal to save a significant number of stores.
The raft of closures next week will lead to over 1,000 redundancies, while the company has also announced hundreds of further job losses affecting warehouse and service centre staff.
Edward Williams, joint administrator, said: “In the absence of viable offers for the whole business, very sadly store closures and redundancies of team members from those stores are now necessary.
“The loss of these stores will be felt not only by the team members who served them with such dedication, including through the uncertainty of recent weeks, but also the communities which they have been a part of.”
The GMB Union has said that administrators for Wilko have confirmed they will make 1,332 workers redundant as they close 52 stores across the UK.
The job losses also include 299 at the company’s two warehouses. These workers will be invited to a meeting on Wednesday after which they will be allowed to go home, GMB said.
There will be a further 17 redundancies among the company’s digital team at its support centre.
The Banbury store is the only Wilko store in the county known to be closing with the future of other Oxfordshire stores yet to be confirmed.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here