It is hard to believe that it is almost a decade since the beloved high street store, Woolworths (or “Woolies” as it was lovingly known) departed from the high street, leaving a stream of nostalgic tears in its wake. The high street store was around for almost 100 years, so it was no wonder that consumers of all ages became so attached to the brand. It is difficult to pin down exactly what type of store Woolworths was, at it sold everything from household goods to school clothes, but it was perhaps most famous for its pick ‘n’ mix. Unfortunately, the Woolworths doors finally closed in 2008, when the administrators took control.
Woolies revival
There is good news for those who loved shopping in Woolworths though, as the former boss of the chain, Tony Page is looking to revive it. Shop Direct own the brand; however, as they are not using it, Mr Page is hoping he can persuade them to sell it. He feels that the brand is still very much part of the community and still has its place amongst the other high street stores. Perhaps the nostalgia of the chain would see it through the initial first year at least, but when that wears off, who knows?
Why did Woolies collapse?
The first Woolworths was opened back in 1909 in Liverpool and although it finally collapsed in 2008, it did have an extremely long lifespan, so what caused its closure? It’s hard to say, but the high street was probably at its peak around this time and with pound stores opening up all over the place, the competition was perhaps just too much for the chain to handle. By the time it collapsed, Woolworths had debts of around £400m and on top of this, a tribunal ruled that staff were to receive compensation. Woolworths had a very short period of time as an online retailer too – it only lasted 6 years before being closed down by the Barclay Brothers, who own Shop Direct and the Woolworths brand.
The future
If plans go ahead to open the Woolworths chain again, this might be a bit of a revival for the high street, but it is difficult to tell whether any success would be short lived for the brand. The positive aspects are that it is a one-stop-shop; however, the prices would probably need to be able to withstand the local competition. Watch this space!
Woolworths by wetwebwork licensed under Creative commons 4