The Wilko brand has been purchased by The Range following the collapse of the high street retailer.

A £5million deal has been agreed which means it will own Wilko's website and will stock and sell some of its products.

However, the deal will not prevent Wilko shops disappearing from Britain's High Streets, with 400 stores to close by early October.

More than 10,000 further Wilko workers are set to lose their jobs by next month as a result.

The Oldham Times: Thousands of Wilko workers are set to lose their jobs as stores closeThousands of Wilko workers are set to lose their jobs as stores close (Image: PA)

Retail analyst Catherine Shuttleworth said buying the brand was "a smart move", BBC News reported.

She added: "The challenge with Wilko was never about the brand itself but about how the business was run.

"So buying the brand is potentially a really smart move for the Range if they can use it to their advantage across their estate either on line or in branding stores in particular geographies."

Wilko selling off stores to rivals

Yesterday (Tuesday, September 12) Pepco sealed a deal where 71 Wilko stores could be reopened under the Poundland brand.

Another rival in B&M has also agreed to buy 51 of Wilko's shops in a £13m deal.

Owner of HMV, Doug Putman, was hoping to put forward a rescue bid for Wilko that would have seen him keep up to 300 stores across the UK open, but his bid failed due to rising costs, reports said.

Wilko was originally founded by James Kemsey Wilkinson in Leicester in 1930.

The family-owned business employed 12,500 staff and ran 400 shops before it hired administrators early last month after it came under pressure from weak consumer spending and debts to suppliers.