Hundreds of retail staff across the county face a grim Christmas as Woolworths and MFI plunged into administration.

The financial crisis has all but killed off two of our biggest high street names - but both were struggling well before the latest economic turmoil.

Woolworths, a legendary shopping name for more than a century and famous for its “wonder” of Woolies ads, operates at least 10 stores in Kent and Medway, including Chatham, Gillingham, Herne Bay, Tonbridge, Faversham, Tenterden, Canterbury, Whitstable, Maidstone and Sittingbourne.

Administrators Deloitte are due to be appointed today to see whether any of the stores can be saved from closure.

Some expressions of interest have already been made, and there are hopes for the emergence of a slimmed-down Woolworths chain. But many store closures seem invevitable.

Staff will be paid at least up to the end of this week but the outlook for many in the run-up to Christmas remains bleak.

Bill Moss, Maidstone town centre manager, said that what has happened had been on the cards for the past few weeks and "our worst fears have been realised".

However, he said it appeared to be the large city centre stores that had dragged Woolworths down and he hoped the Maidstone store in Week Street would not be among those targeted for closure.

"When they start shutting places, I don’t think it’s inevitable that Maidstone will be closed," he said.

"People have a lot of affection for Woolworth but they’re not going in and shopping there. It’s an important retailer to have in the town and they are right in the centre. To have an empty building there would be regretted in the extreme and to be frank, at the moment it would be very difficult to let."

He was sorry for the staff who had the "sword of Damocles" hanging over their heads just four weeks before Christmas.

Woolworths, once famous as the "penny bazaar", has seen customers dwindle away to competitors such as supermarkets which moved into its territory of low-cost items.

Experts criticised its business model, saying it was old-fashioned, offered too many items and became a "jack of all trades, master of none".

But it still kept a loyal customer base, with people liking its mix of pick and mix sweets, chocolate, CDs, paint, household items, toys, children’s clothes and small electrical goods.

Woolworth has a complex ownership structure and also operates a CD and DVD distribution arm, which has also gone into administration.

MFI was already in trouble. Earlier this month, it closed stores in Ashford and Tunbridge Wells with the loss of 18 jobs. But that leaves outlets in Canterbury, Dartford, Gillingham and Maidstone.

The downturn in the housing market has hit MFI hard, with fewer people buying high-ticket items like fitted kitchens and bedrooms.

The group was restructured in September with a management buyout. Bosses took over 106 MFI stores but the remaining 81 went into administration.

MFI was once the UK’s biggest furniture retailer, but has seen increasing competition. The furniture sector has been hard hit by the economic downturn.