Woolworths’ administrators are working on a bid to rescue the store – if their efforts fail, it will disappear from our high streets, no doubt forever. This morning, it’s been called ‘a lame duck’ by many commentators. But why is this? I have a local Woolies in my high street and (mostly because I have young kids and Christmas is coming), I’m in there almost daily buying toys, hair grips, school uniforms, socks, dvds and cds, even paint brushes. And every time I have to go in, there’s a giant queue of people all similarly laden. I don’t know the ins and outs of the business and why it’s going under – other than it’s had to face intense competition from supermarkets, DIY stores and website businesses. Maybe it’s a symptom of our dying high streets… What I do know is that if it does disappear from my high street, it will leave an enormous hole – both literally and as a destination for people who like to shop locally. I’d like to know what you think about the demise of Woolworths – why do you think it has failed? Let me know.
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i actually found Woolies to generally be one of the cheapest places around, despite reports to the contrary. My Nintendo Wii, for example, was a bargain from Woolworths, and it’s the place i always go for Christmas decorations. It’s a real tragedy that after 99 years of UK trading it looks like it may be all over.
Who knows? With all the publicity and with the stores looking like they can trade through Christmas, enough well-wishers might stop in for their pressies and grant one of the most iconic retailers on the British high street a very late reprieve… Fingers crossed on my part
Woolworths have been struggling for some time now. I understand that for the first 8 months of the year, Woolworths make a loss and it is only the last 4 months including the busy Christmas period that they start to turn a profit. I am afraid that in this case, Christmas did NOT come early for Woolworths.
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