THE Woolworths store in Heanor closed its doors for the final time on Tuesday and the Alfreton branch will follow suit next week.
All 807 stores in Britain will close by January 5 making the branch on Alfreton High Street one of the last to go.
Administrators were called into the ailing retail chain in December but their attempts to find a buyer for it as a going concern fai
led and shops launched 50 per cent off closing down sales a week before Christmas.
Staff have been given ten days notice but will be asked to work for up to three days after the shops have closed to clear up. They will be entitled to statutary redundancy.
John Hannett, general secretary of shopworkers' union Usdaw, said: "I am personally devastated for the 30,000 Woolworth's staff and our members can rest assured we will do everything we can to assist them at this difficult time.
"The Woolworths staff are extremely loyal, dedicated and well-trained and wherever vacancies exist in the retail sector we will use our contacts to find alternative employment as speedily as possible."
A range of food, clothes and value retailers have made offers to take over the leases at about 300 stores.
The administrators said there was still interest in parts of the business but admitted they had "not come close" to finding a buyer for the firm.
Efforts will be made to put Woolworths staff who are losing their jobs in contact with these potential employers, the administrators Deloitte said.
Shop windows across the country have been displaying a countdown to show how many days are left until closing.
The company also delivered up to 30 per cent of music CDs in the UK, as well as film and TV DVDs.
