Woolworths UK taking a nosedive to oblivion

[Jargo]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...g&refer=europe

I'm gutted. Woollies has been part of the landscape of my life for as long as i can remember. cheap toys, everything no-one else sells, pick and mix sweets (candy) and the latest music/movie chart releases. Not to mention the bargain bin pricing on older music and movies.

if it sinks completely it'll be a very sad day indeed. There are other stores now doing what woollies does but none of them have the same charm. none of them have the same instant recognition high street presense. I really hope someone can step in and add some ballast to the old ship.

[plasticfetish]

You know, it's funny... back when Woolworths vanished over here, it was a bit sad, but the honest truth was that most people saw it coming. Had nothing to do with a "recession." It had more to do with the fact that Woolworths owned too many stores, and didn't put much effort into running a decent business.

Still though, I have fond memories of eating lunch at the downtown San Francisco Woolworths lunch counter with my dad in the '70s. It was a bit of a surreal experience, but very much a cool throwback to the old days in that city. I can also remember the weird mix of merchandise (and customers) that the dusty old place featured. It had a pretty big wig department, and one of the most depressing pet (sick goldfish) departments that I'd ever seen.

But not as depressing as the huge Gap that they put there after the store closed down.

[bobafrett]

I, one time, replaced a fish tank ornament, with a nude green lady I had made with modeling clay at a Woolworths. I thought I was the best little prankster around! I didn't stay to see if it got any reaction or not. I miss the Woolworths we had at the nearby Yorktown mall. My grandma would shop at the one in Chicago for our Christmas gifts.

I bet Wal-Mart put them out of comission.

[dr_evazan22]

Its nice to know that they have survived this long over there, since they've been gone from the States for so long.

A similar store that was in my neighborhood growing up was Kresge's - same basic concept at the time... Lunch counter, cheap prices, not the cleanest or most organized, by today's standards. I remember saving my allowance to get my SW fig's there as a kid for about 2 bucks a pop. If what I was told is true, Kresge put the K in Kmart; it was supposedly the last Kresge store.

[Kidhuman]

I too recall Woolworths. I had got many a Star Wars figure from there as a child.

[pbarnard]

On no!!! Brian Adams will no longer be able to buy guitars.

[Jedi_Kal-El]

I use to find alot of SW and Trek figures at Woolworths, that I couldn't find anywhere else at the time. Too bad they folded, nobody ever went there to.....oh.

[dr_evazan22]

Checking out Woolworths on Wiki, I see that Woolie's morphed into the Footlocker brand.

[OC47150]

I remember Woolworths from my childhood. During the sixth-grade trip to Chicago, we had breakfast at the Woolworths lunch counter.

When I went to Germany in '95, I was surprised to see Woolworths across the street from my hotel. I went over and bought $15 worth of German candy to give out to people when I got home.

[JEDIpartner]

The Woolworth's lunch counter...