Kwik Save to close 90 stores
Troubled supermarket chain Kwik Save is to shut down a further 90 stores, with the loss of more than 1,100 jobs, after going into administration. Troubled supermarket chain Kwik Save is to shut down a further 90 stores, with the loss of more than 1,100 jobs, after going into administration. The news, follows the closure of 81 branches last month, including its Wellington branch in Telford. Just 56 branches will survive under plans to transfer them to new ownership, trading under the name Fresh Express. A further 40 Shropshire and Mid Wales jobs now hang in the balance while the future of stores in Oswestry, Harlescott in Shrewsbury, Welshpool and Whitchurch is decided.
The news, which follows the closure of 81 branches last month, will come as a big blow to the hundreds of staff who have been working without pay for six weeks. The chain closed its Wellington branch in Telford last month.
Just 56 branches will survive under plans to transfer them to new ownership, trading under the name Fresh Express.
More details about the surviving stores are expected to be released shortly - the company was unavailable to give further details today.
The chain closed its Wellington branch in Telford without notice last month and made 12 staff redundant. A further 40 Shropshire and Mid Wales jobs now hang in the balance while the future of stores in Oswestry, Harlescott in Shrewsbury, Welshpool and Whitchurch is decided.
The company told the High Court in Manchester it wanted to transfer 56 stores to a new firm, and the judge agreed to the move. Staff in the supermarkets remaining open will receive back pay by next Tuesday, but workers made redundant will have to apply for money to the administrators.
Shopworkers' union Usdaw said its members, who had been working without pay while a rescue package was finalised, would be "devastated" by the latest news.
Joanne McGuinness, the union's national officer, said: "Our members will be feeling totally let down by Kwik Save and we will support them through the next difficult period as they claim statutory redundancy pay.
"Our members have shown incredible strength and resilience in trying to keep the company alive and have had to rely on handouts from relatives.
"Some have faced losing their homes."
Kwik Save's market share has slipped to 0.2 per cent this year, as the chain has lost customers to low-cost rivals such as Aldi and Lidl.
The union said the workers were now paying the price of under-investment in the stores and the failure to address problems in the supply chain which had left some stores with little or no stock.
By Carl Jones
