The Wilkies clothing store in Kirkcaldy will close for the final time next week after nearly four decades in the Fife town.
Rising costs and a drop in sales following the pandemic saw the firm collapse into administration this summer.
Administrators Blair Nimmo and Alistair McAlinden, from Interpath Advisory, immediately sold six stores to a new company, Wilkies Trading.
That move, which included Wilkies’ Perth store, saved more than 50 jobs. Its Dundee store closed earlier this year.
However, the Kirkcaldy branch was not saved as part of the deal.
Other stores closed immediately, with the Lang Toun shop kept open to sell off remaining stock.
However, the administrators have now confirmed it will close for the last time on August 24.
‘Huge thanks’ to Kirkcaldy Wilkies staff
From Tuesday, discounts across all departments in the store will increase from 20% to 50%.
Mr McAlinden, head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland, added: “As we enter the final days of trading at the Kirkcaldy store, we would encourage shoppers to head on down as we sell out all of the remaining stock.”
He also thanked the 10 staff who were retained by administrators to help with trading for their efforts.
“Once again we’d like to express our huge thanks to the dedicated staff at Kirkcaldy, who have shown such professionalism over the past seven weeks,” Mr McAlinden added.
Shop closure a blow to Fife town
Wilkies opened in Kirkcaldy High Street in 1986 having bought Bogie’s, which traded from the same site since 1893.
The closure has been described as the “latest blow” to Kirkcaldy by councillor Judy Hamilton.
She previously said: “It’s a huge blow to the high street. It’s sad to see an independent business closing.”
And readers of The Courier also expressed their disappointment at the news.
