People in tears as Wilko employee films emotional farewell to empty store

20 September 2023 , 11:04

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Wilko entered administration last month (Image: @owen2smith/TikTok)

For many people, Wilko holds a special place in their hearts, and this of course includes the hardworking employees who have dedicated their days to helping customers. Now one employee has left people in floods of tears after sharing a video that shows them bidding a fond farewell to their store, now just an empty space with shelves cleared of all products.

In the TikTok video, the employee, whose name is Owen, could be seen wandering forlornly around the desolate store, placing one hand tenderly on a shelf before moving on to the next aisle. Sad music played out as Owen surveyed his bare surroundings, a bittersweet smile crossing his face as if remembering happier times.

Captioning the clip, "goodbye Wilko", with a teary emoji face, Owen - who goes by the username @owen2smith - added: "Goodbye Wilko, you've been a pleasure." The clip has since clocked up more than 93.2K likes and counting, with many people expressing affection for the iconic high street brand.

One person commented: "Goodbye Wilko, sorry for holding the pick n' mix bag a bit higher on the scales to get half-price sweets as a kid." Another wrote: "So sad. Loved Wilko, it feels like losing Woolworths all over again." A third said: "I'm a Wilko employee as well, all the best bro for the future and my fellow team members across the UK. Really sad times for us all."

Many people expressed affection for the iconic high street brand (@owen2smith/TikTok)

Owen later thanked his followers for their support (@owen2smith/TikTok)

In a follow-up clip, Owen expressed gratitude to his followers for their kind words in a heartfelt message, writing: "Thank you for all your kind words and support on my video. It's been a pleasure working for Wilko and it will be deeply missed."

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Yesterday, Wilko administrators confirmed 111 more stores will close for good next week, releasing the exact dates in a heartbreaking update. It was announced that 37 branches will close as of Monday (September 25), followed by another 37 sites on Wednesday (September 27).

A further 37 will shut on Friday (September 29). Wilko entered administration last month, at which point it had more than 400 shops and approximately 12,500 employees. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) administrators were unable to find a buyer for the entirety of the Wilko estate, resulting in stores starting to close as of last week.

Julia Banim