Wilko workers say their final goodbyes with dance performed to ‘So Long, Farewell’ after chain’s collapse

Wilko employee said their final goodbyes with a dance performed to the tune of “So Long, Farewell” following the collapse of the chain last month. Hayley Burrows, 37, took part in the video along with seven colleagues after their very last customer left their shop.

The video shows the Wilko workers, some in uniform, take their final bows as they bid farewell to the store that had become their “second family”. Hayley’s manager proposed the idea the same day after he had seen other stores do the same thing.

Hayley’s shop in Minstergate, Thetford, Norfolk had been open since 2008 and home to some of her colleagues for a decade. Hayley herself was about to celebrate her eighth anniversary when the shop shut its doors.

Hayley said: “It’s an important part of the community. Some people have been in the company for decades. I know it sounds silly but my colleagues really are like family. One ex-colleague came back and put her uniform on again just to say goodbye with us.”

Hayley and her colleagues may have lost the store but plan to remain friends now that they are no longer co-workers. The staff have now set up a WhatsApp group so they can stay in touch.

Hayley explained: “We’ve seen each other through life’s ugliest moments. In 2019 I received a call that said my mother had passed away and my colleagues saw me through that. I really do think they’re friends for life.”

Hayley said the dance was not just a goodbye to the store but a celebration of six tough weeks since Wilko’s administration began.

She said: “It was false hope, then no hope, false hope, then no hope. My manager tried his best to keep us informed but we found everything out from the press like everyone else.”

The shop’s closure comes after Wilko hired administrators last month, announcing the closure of 400 remaining locations. Dozens of stores closed over the last few days, with the final shops scheduled to close next week.