Wrexham shoppers have reacted to the news that High Street brand Wilko has gone into administration.

The retailer shared today (Thursday, August 10) that it has appointed administrators after failing to secure a rescue deal.

This means that in the 400 stores under the brand, over 12,000 jobs across the UK put at risk at Wilko, though they have not yet confirmed if the stores will close.

One of these stores is in Island Green, in Wrexham, and the Leader went out to a quiet city centre to see how shoppers have reacted to the news.

Many had said they were unaware of the news prior to being asked but were "sad" about the possibility of another High Street brand to go. 

Chris Nelson, 53, from Wrexham said: “It’s a shame. Everything’s changing with the internet. It feels like something new has got to happen with the town centre. Shopping habits are changing but apart from that it’s a shame on the people.”

He added: “it’s a shame they couldn’t go more internet based as a distribution point or something, but they probably thought of all these things and the worlds changing isn’t it.”

Cerys Davies 38, from Caergwrle, said: “It’s just a shame isn’t it; it’s been a long time that it’s been open for. I think these bargain shops are taking over.”

She added: “The internet’s taking over everywhere. I think jobs as well, people don’t want to work minimum wage anymore because they can go and earn money elsewhere, they’ve got separate incomes, people working online and buying online. People don’t have to step out of their house.”

READ MORE: The 6 North Wales stores at risk of closing as Wilko enters administration

Lee Davies, 47 from near Wrexham thinks that if the Wrexham store closes, there won’t be much impact on the city centre. He said: “The only time I’ve been in it it’s been quiet so I don’t think (the impact) will be that much. I think the ASDA Living was the worst to close.”

Stephanie Noo, 36 from Pentre Broughton and works at Noo Tattoo in the city centre thought about the affect it could have in the city centre in a more positive way. She said: “I have no real feelings about it to be honest, it’s a pretty big chain. I think Wrexham could do with more small businesses so (it could) make more room in the market for people like me. With the renovation going on at the Arcade as well I think we need more spaces for small businesses definitely.”

Previously, Wilko had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the High Court.

In an open letter today, Mark Jackson, Wilko CEO said: “Over the past six months Wilko has been very open that we’ve been considering options to accelerate a turnaround plan given that we needed to make significant changes to the way we operate to restore confidence and stabilise our business.

“We left no stone unturned when it came to preserving this incredible business but must concede that with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration.

“We’ve all fought hard to keep this incredible business intact but must concede that time has run out and now we must do what’s best to preserve as many jobs as possible, for as long as is possible, by working with our appointed administrators.”