The Wonder of Woolies
InSITE Reporter Shae Courtney wonders about the demise in the great Woolworths chain
I honestly never thought this day would come. Manic scenes at Woolworths always used to denote a particularly good Christmas or the release of the latest must-have toy. For me, it was always the latest Hot Wheels cars. Although, rather embarrassingly, one birthday I did invest in a Furbie. However, the numbers flocking to 815 of Woolies’ stores over the past month have not been for the want of the latest accessory or board game, but because the iconic retailer has reached the end of its life. Discounts of up to 70 per cent were used to clear all stock in what was called the “sale of a century.”
The most difficult thing to accept with Woolworths is that it hasn’t done anything particularly wrong
There are few retailers on our High Street that can boast the heritage of Woolworths. The College population, like many of their parents and grandparents, will recall the days of their early childhood and the magical toy department of the store. There simply was no place quite like Woolies for toys. And then, of course, there were the sweets. Pic ‘n’ mix, Walnut Whips, cola bottles, wine gums. What more could you ask for? It was a child’s dream come true; all a child could want, sweets and toys, side-by-side under one roof and, bearing Mum and Dad’s pocket in mind, for tiny “crack down” prices.
The decline of the retailer cannot be fully blamed on the recession, however. The heyday for the retailer came in the 1960s and early 1970s. The story since then has been one of managed decline as supermarkets and out-of-town shopping centres have increased in popularity. In fact, the last twenty years has seen the steepest decline with more and more shoppers permanently turning their backs on the retailer.
The most difficult thing to accept with Woolworths is that it hasn’t done anything particularly wrong. The stores are in good locations. The staff are, on the whole, pleasant. The products are the latest and they’re reasonably priced. The problem lies in that Woolies belongs in yesteryear. They haven’t adapted and they haven’t foreseen the change in consumer trends. Moreover, supermarkets offer the things that Woolworths do at often lower prices and at greater convenience to the consumer.
And so, with £385 million of debt, the retailer closed all 815 stores by January 6th never to open its doors again under the same guise. Not the “cracker of a Christmas” the retailer boasted in their advertisements of the 1980s.
