Moment Wilko staff sing rendition of Tina Turner’s Simply The Best as they hold back tears after store’s shutters come down for the final time – as retailer vanishes from High Street
This is the moment Wilko staff sang an enthusiastic rendition of Tina Turner’s hit song Simply The Best after the store’s shutters came down for the final time.
The discount hardware and furnishings chain has been shutting its 400 UK stores over the past month after tumbling into administration in August and closed its final 41 stores at the end of trading yesterday.
Emotional staff have been seen in a variety of musical tributes to the fallen store posted on social media – singing and dancing their hearts out among empty shelves.
In one video posted on Facebook, staff wearing their Wilko uniform belted out Tina Turner’s classic during a fun and heartfelt karaoke session.
The clip was posted online with the caption: ‘Wilko Newcastle yous are SIMPLY THE BEST! We wish you all the very best of luck for the future! We wish everyone who worked for Wilkos all over the UK all the very best for the future!’
Another video posted on X, formerly Twitter, showed a staff member walking around amongst empty shelves, with Spice Girls’ song Goodbye playing in the background.
In emotional scenes, staff at another branch belted out a version of the 1980 hit The Final Countdown on their way out.
Wilko staff belt out an enthusiastic rendition of Tina Turner’s hit song Simply The Best
The staff appeared to do a karaoke performance as Wilko stores around the country closed
Empty shelves and ‘Store Closing’ signs at the Wilko Store in Slough, Berkshire
MP for Doncaster Central posted footage on Facebook of staff performing The Final Countdown while wishing them luck.
Read more: Shutters close on the last 41 of Wilko’s 400 UK stores as shoppers grab final bargains from the shelves and pay tribute to staff
Staff dressed in the uniform all paraded through an empty shop, clapping in unison and dancing to the song by Swedish rock band Europe.
They all loudly sang their hearts out when they got to the chorus of the well-known tune, raising their arms in the air.
Other footage online showed a staff member stroking the bare shelves, with a colleague sweeping the floors in the background.
After the shutters closed for the final time in the branch in Sheffield city centre, staff held their own leaving drinks inside the store.
The shop was turned into a dance floor as staff did karaoke, before a group hug singing The Beatles classic Hey Jude, the Star reports.
Manager Dean said: ‘This is probably the last time we will all be together, so we decided to enjoy it while we can. It’s been a great party.
‘We’ve had some great support in the past month. Lots of us have been given jobs at Poundland or Dunelm or a few others. The council and JobCentre have held presentations in-store about how to get our next job.
‘All I can say is good luck to all the 12,500 people who have lost their jobs. We’ve all been here to the very end.’
MP for Doncaster Central posted footage on Facebook of staff performing The Final Countdown
Staff singing The Final Countdown marched through an empty store, singing and dancing
One Wilko worker filmed herself sharing her pain at learning the news outside her branch in Thetford, Norfolk, posting it to her TikTok profile.
The employee, using the handle @whayley, said: ‘I’m gutted myself, I love my job.’
She added: ‘I don’t know how they expect us to keep doing this with that news, it’s… the whole thing’s really demoralising.
‘If you haven’t read the news already all the Wilko stores in the country will be closed by early-to-mind October, which means my job is down the s******.’
Her voice audibly breaking throughout the clip, she added: ‘Between now and next week there’s 200-something stores closing.
‘It’s in the news. This isn’t even me like, spreading secrets, this is literally in the news.
‘So – sorry guys, my colleagues across the country, I am so, so, so gutted for you. I’m just gutted full stop.’
Teammates showed each other a heartwarming display of support, wishing fellow staff members ‘good luck’ and vouching for their talents.
One member of staff who would be walking away from the high-street chain after joining when she was still a teenager, posted a pithy message on LinkedIn that revealed the gravity of the loss felt by Wilko workers.
Read more: Ten former Wilko stores will reopen as Poundland shops within days following collapse of high street chain: See if your local is on the list
‘It seems fitting that my first LinkedIn post is about Wilko. Yesterday marked my last day after seven years in a business and role I’ve loved and will certainly miss.
‘I joined when I was 19 and during my time I’ve worked with and for some amazing people.
‘I’m truly grateful for all the opportunities presented to me, I’ve learnt so much, gained new skills and enjoyed every second. I’ll look back with great fondness and fab memories.
‘But right now I’m looking forward for the next challenge, onwards and upwards from here! Wishing the best of luck to all my friends and colleagues in this weird new world.’
A space planning assistant manager at Wilko posted: ‘To say I’m devastated is an understatement.’
‘I’m saddened that my Wilko career has come to an end like this. If anyone knows of any roles that might suit my skills then please get in touch’.
The discount hardware and furnishings chain has been shutting its 400 UK stores over the past month after tumbling into administration in August
Wilko shut the doors of its final 41 stores, bringing the collapse of the 93-year-old retailer to a close
The shelves were largely empty at one branch in Wood Green, north London, and a ‘this store is now closed’ notice was displayed outside the store.
Disappointed shoppers, including a woman who had been a customer for 15 years, have said the closures is ‘really sad, especially as Christmas is coming’.
The store’s collapse brings to a close one of the largest high street failures in recent years, with almost all of Wilko’s 12,500 workers being made redundant.
Shoppers who swung by the Wood Green store yesterday said the store looked like a ‘circus’ on its final days as shoppers flocked to get one last deal.
Denys, a Wood Green local, said he was stunned to see costumers stripping shelves without even looking at what they were picking up.
He said at least a hundred people were in the store, mindlessly grabbing items in a bid to secure a 10p deal.
‘Everyone was there trying to grab everything they could… they didn’t even look at the stuff,’ he told The Sun.
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