General Chat

Can't believe it, just heard on the tv that woollys has gone bust another era gone.
lynn

sorry Linda - didnlt see this - have just posted the same along with MFI going under as well

A long way away from those celeb packed Woollie Christmas TV ads from a few years ago

hard to imagine never seeing a Woolies again - they and MFI both employ thousands, my neighbour works for MFI - what a terrible Christmas these employees are going to have

Woolworths' banks have been ordered back to the negotiating table to find a way to save the struggling retailer, by a senior government minister in the department run by Lord Mandelson.

It is understood a minister from the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) last night called John Varley, chief executive at Barclays, as well as the Bank of Ireland's Burdale divison and GMAC, to ask why the banks were pushing the 99-year old pic 'n' mix retailer into administration.

The fate of Woolworths hung in the balance before government ministers intervened, and this morning shares in the business were suspended as the company tried to wrap up talks to sell its 840 stores chain to Hilco for £1.

Commented to my good lady at the week-end that woolies share were one pence each.
Happy days

I think it should be saved - it's a national institution

i dont understand why it should be saved , who is going to pay to save it ?

yet another victim of the ever expanding supermarket.....Toys, CD.s Childrens Clothes etc can be bought along with the weekly food shop...It is sad, but have to admit that I can not remember the last time I shopped there.

I bought my Mama Mia DVD there on Monday!!!

We stoppped going our woolies a while ago ,it was so cluttered with stuff you couldnt find what you wanted.. shame though, I loved going to their shops..

My mum worked in woollys for a while in the seventies, and I bought my first record in our local one, I think a film star owned it at one time but it is a end of a era.
lynn

snap so did I Ann.

Star

I remember going to buy a quarter of salted peanuts on a Saturday in the early '70's with my mates.

But these days I don't ever go into Woolies and haven't for years: too crowded, displays packed too high, aisles too narrow, not enough sales assistants so no floor service, long waits at the tills, and as someone already said, too diversified so not sufficient stock of anything. A really unpleasant shopping experience.

I'm not really surprised at MFI, our store closed down a few weeks ago after selling literally everything in the shop off, the store had only been reopened a few months after they had to build following a fire. They started outpricing themselves... people always associated them with good furniture on reasonable prices but they got far too expensive. our new store didn't even have sofas like the old one did. they said had to go to nearest one...in lancaster, which is insane.

Very sad about woollies though. Hopefully someone will buy it up. We were in woollies just a couple of weeks ago to buy a DS game as an Xmas pressie. Picked up the boxes (as did a couple of others) and took it to the till...sorry sold out. Well why was it on the shelf...usually they have a sold out sign on them. I like our woollies but it's never properly staffed.

I'm sad but not surprised at this outcome.

I think many Items were over priced, such as children's clothing & 9 out of 10 times, their dvd/cds/games were always slightly dearer than many of the other shops.

As its been said before, I also think it sold too many different things, things which people could buy elsewhere cheaper.instead of specializing in a few set things. Everytime I go in the shop, it seems a miss match if bits, leaving me confused at why I went in there in the first place :o))

Ps our store also had the sold out but boxes on the shelf for a long while, the problem as ongoing. and very irritating after queing at a busy lengthy que for ages to leave empty handed

In the name of nostalgia take a look at this site

http://museum.woolworths.co.uk/

Have to say, Karen, I think they've gone downhill lately, too. Our local one is quite a small branch (the one in Leicester was much bigger and had a good, affordable on a student budget selection of homewares, but just before I graduated they closed the one in the main shopping precinct there and moved it miles away) but the range of stock has got wider at the expense of the quality. I think they've tried too hard to diversify.

Ours in Gloucester is quite good, I have bought a lot of ladybird clothes for grandaughter there over the last 6 years, even got her a couple of tops there for christmas this year.

Ann
Glos

Its very sad.

I live near the main distribution warehouse were there are hundreds of jobs going to go. Ive also worked there myself in years gone by. This will be a big shock to our town and sadly at this time of year.

The shop in the town was used as a centre of excellence for all the others. It always has plenty of people in at all times of the day but obviously not enough!

I bought my first lipstick from Woollies - I must have been about 13 - can't remember how much I paid for it. Also remember buying a white clutch bag there for 2/6d - shucks thats showing my age - I shall go now.............

Love Mary xx