A HIGH street staple in Ammanford is set to close by October according to union reports.

The GMB union has stated that all 410 of the Wilko stores – which includes the one in Ammanford – will be closing by October after an attempt to buy them out failed.

Administrators PwC have stated that a number of stores are set to close in the next couple of weeks. In total, 178 stores have already been given closing dates, with 52 of these shutting their doors for the final time today – Tuesday, September 12, or Thursday, September 14.

Initially, the Ammanford store had escaped this fate, but with more stores being announced to close – including Parc Trostre, Llanelli – and the failure of the buyout attempt, the Ammanford store is among the 222 across the UK that will close but have not yet been given a closure date.

Adam Price, MS for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, said: “Wilko has been a part of Ammanford for many years and this news is nothing short of devastating for the town. Times are incredibly tough at the moment, and this will no doubt be damaging to our local economy. I will be writing to the economy minister to see what support is available to those who have lost their job.

“My thoughts are with all those who will be affected by the closure, and to anyone who may need support, please visit my office or send an email to adam.price@senedd.wales.”

Jonathan Edwards, MP for Carmarthen East & Dinefwr, said: “Desperately bad news that the administrative process has appeared to fail to sell the business as an ongoing concern.

"With store closures and job losses now imminent, my main thoughts are with the workforce and I have raised this matter with Government Ministers to ensure the support of the Job Centre plus is available to those who will regrettably be left without jobs. It is also bad news for the local economy in Ammanford with the loss of another retailer from the town”.  

The stores in Wales that are set to close on Tuesday, September 12 are Cardiff Bay Retail Park, Llandudno and Port Talbot.

The stores in Wales set to close on Thursday, September 14 are Morriston, Cardiff Queen Street and Rhyl.

The stores in Wales due to close on Sunday, September 17 are Newport, Blackwood and Pontypool.

The stores in Wales due to close on Tuesday, September 19 are Aberdare, Wrexham, Maesteg and Chepstow.

The stores in Wales due to close on Thursday, September 21 are Cwmbran, Cyfartha, Parc Trostre Llanelli, Bridgend, Holyhead and Pwllheli.

The administrators have anticipated that all stores across the UK will be closed by early October after it became clear that no significant part of Wilko operations could be rescued and on Monday, September 11, all staff were told about the closures of the stores, distribution centres and support centres.

The distribution centres are set to close on Friday, September 15 and there will be more redundancies in the support centre during September and early October.

Zelf Hussain, one of the joint administrators, said: “Despite the significant and intensive efforts of both ourselves and Putman Investments – the remaining party interested in buying a significant part of the business as a going concern – a transaction could not be progressed due to the inability to reduce central infrastructure costs quickly enough to make a deal commercially viable.

“The dedication shown by all team members during this period has been hugely humbling and we are grateful for the patience and understanding they have shown. As with those who have already been given notice of redundancy, we will guide and support those team members impacted over the coming weeks through the redundancy claims process. We also continue to collaborate closely with relevant agencies and engage with any potential employers to help facilitate a quick return into new employment for those impacted.

“We continue to work with potential buyers for different parts of the business and are confident of completing transactions in the coming days.”