Does anyone else feel really sad about Woolworths?

I feel sad for that number of people losing their jobs, but actually for Woolies I couldn't really give a monkeys. Hopefully the one locally will be replaced by a decent shop. Woollies has been a bit crap for years

L

xx

I agree that it's a bit crap Lois, their kids clothes are cheap tat, and you can find DVD's alot cheaper elsewhere.

But, I still feel so saaaaaaaad!

?

Precisely what I was going to say.

There's a slideshow on the beeb, and I think one comment summed it all up - Woolies is the place you go when you can't think where else would sell a particular item and you pop in on the offchance.

? at a midi hifi being £150 in the early 80s...

what in the name of arse was 'woolco?' i remember the 80s but i don't remember that.

I felt very nostalgic when I went in on Saturday (to get Christmas lights- but the shelves were bare, as if there had been some kind of smash and grab looting going on). I have so many memories of going to our local store with my grandparents (RIP) and my parents when I was very little to look at toys and see santa. In later years when I was a yoof, we would hang out in woolies and spend our pocket money on tapes and pick'n'mix, and we'd get silly photos done in the photo booth with whichever spotty boy yoofs we'd met in town that day. Oh the glamour of it! Then, when I was getting ready go to down south to uni, I remember an emotional trip to buy me some basic essentials for student life (who was to predict that the plates and kettle would remain in their packaging and taht a hooka and some bongos would have been a wiser investment. ?) Ah <wipes eyes>, the memories.

Having said all that, it had been going down the pan for years, partly because its senior management was atrocious, but also because their business line was so outmoded. Although they tried to move with the times by developing a digital/ distribution arm to the business, their retail business was basically shafted by the likes of amazon/ itunes/ matalan etc and those with strategic control of the companny didn't movr fast enough to keep its trade relevant. When a business has failed because of pig-headed mis-management, it's hard to feel too sorry. (althoguh I do of course feel awful for those poor staff.)

I don't really - its turned into a shop full of tat as far as I can tell. I find Wilko more useful for odds and sods - Woolies childrens clothes are rubbish, staff surly, DVDs etc overpriced. Plus there is no customer lift in our local one and you have to find some sulky member of staff to take you in the goods lift if you have a pushchair.

What lois said.

i went into one this week and it was like a shop in prague before the wall came down. bare shelves, shuffling people dressed all in grey and drab colours, people trying to buy anything for a "bargain". i saw the queue to pay, and immediately thought it looked like the queue for a jeremy kyle show.

I'm sad too, it really is the end of an era. The Woolworths in my home town is and always has been good. It saw me through lots of dark months when a walk to Woolworths and back was the only daylight I saw. It really was a place to buy everything and the staff were always so helpful. Once Woolworths goes, there will be very little left as Musselburgh High Street is dying as it is, I don't think it can take any more pound shops/bookmakers/charity shops/travel agents.

I used to work in Woolies when I was in the sixth form, on the record counter. I used to piss people off by playing the Sex Pistols whenever I got a chance ?

It was an old fashioned place then, and the staff had been there years and years. I feel bad for them, not many places maintain that sort of staff loyalty.

From a business perspective, though, it's interesting to see the importance of keeping up with contemporary trading styles. I always feel overwhelmed by companies who have been trading for years and years. However, past performance is no indicator of furture performance, is it?

? at the queue for a Jeremy Kyle show.

I've bought something from Woolies once in my adult life as far as I can remember. It wouldn't ever have occurred to me to go there, so I won't miss it.

I get really sad at the state of my local high road though. Rents have gone up so there are more empty shops than ones in use. The variety consists almost exclusively of hairdressers, nail bars, pound shops and charity shops.

I'm the same as Lois really. I'm dreadfully sorry for the staff but I don't have any emotional attachments to any shops, especially not Woolies.

My MIL works in Rossiters in Paignton, its a 150 year old department store and although she is devastated at losing her job as its closing in January, and i do feel dreadfully sorry for her and the other members of staff as she loved her job very much, I don't feel anything at all about the shop going, it was hideous!

Not sad at all. Glad to see the back of it. I wish we could get rid of all the other tat-ridden stores on our local High Streets too.

I remember Woolco - wasn't it a bit like Argos? IIRC it was at the back of our local Woolies and you chose from a catalogue and ordered at a counter.

I also remember when they had a deli counter.

I feel old now ?

I do as my husband works at the HO, redundancy is looming....not that great at this time of year.

I agree that it was the place you went to get something only if you couldn't get it anywhere else...any time I can think of that I've bought something in Woolies that was exactly why. It wasn't even competitively priced for a lot of stuff either.

I think it is a shame, but not a surprise sadly - our local Woolies closed down very suddenly around 18 months ago. It's never really moved with the times has it - I don't think Woolworths has changed at all over all the time I can remember it (and I'm 35 so that's quite a long time). And it goes without saying, I feel tremendously sorry for the staff, losing their jobs not only at this time of year but in the current economic climate ☹️

I think it is sad. As a child I would do my Christmas shopping in there. My Grandma used to take me to the cafe for a 99p breakfast sometimes.

The UK highstreet, as we grew up with it, is disappearing. I am concerned that soon you'll be left with nothing but a handful of chain stores shoved in town outskirts shopping malls (like life over here...).

Rainy and others who are losing jobs, I feel very sorry for you.

Me too! But I wasn't brave enough to play Sex Pistols. I stuck to Pink Floyd, New Order & Blur ?

I had to wear the most unflattering blue tent dress & stripey shirt combo. Lovley.

I would have agreed with you, but I am very sad that a large chain is shutting down over here called Linens n Things. It was the first shop I went into where I literally said 'wow' !

The shop was from floor to ceiling (and the ceilings are a very long way from the floor!) packed full of wonderful house goods .. from bedroom, to bathroom to kitchen. And everything in between.

I will really miss it. http://www.lnt.com/home/index.jsp

As for Woolies, I only went in there once every year, if that, as a last resort for Christmas wrapping, selection boxes etc. No emotion there.