wiley

iTrader: (63)

woolworths used to be my source when i was younger for all my cds and mags. bad times for employees

wiley

dpb

Bought huge pad of sketch paper yes morning - when i paid 50 p for it i new summat was up

dpb

which was exactly how Wollies started in the first place

DYK

we had two wollie shops by us when i were a lad,and never really bothered with any of them,I think the last thing i got from their was the Prodigy Album,back in the early 90's..

Butty

iTrader: (2)

We went into our local Woolies last saturday and noticed the lack of stock, especially the toys, at a time of year when they should have loads.

I blame it on years of pick n' mix being robbed or eaten on the spot.

Allan

iTrader: (1)

Spot on, nothing wrong with the Schrieber range. MFI let themselves down on the ordering and distribution side of the business.

David Lock

I heard on the Radio that Woolies had turned down a £50m offer from Iceland earlier this year.

Hindsight eh?

dl

Wish

iTrader: (2)

I havent bought in there since year before last when they had stock of wii but would only sell it with ALL the games costing somewhere over £500

StickyMicky

had to laugh at the irony of everybody on the news last night saying pretty much the same thing, in what they thought was a true "comedy way"

"ohh where will i steal pic-n-mic from now? it will be a shame that its gone"

so the people who stole from it, are sorry its gone?

WRX_Dazza

fond memories of woolies as a kid

will MFI be having a "real" closing down sale??? i wonder

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I agree it's a shame about Woolies, but thinking back - all I ever actually bought from them was a few chocs for people at Xmas.

Games and DVDs? Online, of course.

Kitchen stuff? Much better selection at any department store, cookshop or even supermarket.

Toys? Bit old for those now, but I imagine kids today have just as good an idea of what they want as I did when I was little, so mail order again.

DIY? Straight to B&Q, Homebase or Focus.

Stationary? Staples or Smiths.

To me, Woolies were always a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Seeing them go is a shame, but I'm just not that sure I'll really miss them...

EddScott

Wonder what they would say if Woolworths was a bank?

Coffin Dodger

On a more positive note it looks like the Currys/PCWorld/Dixons group could also go the same way at some point in the future. Recorded a £30m loss for the first half of this year BBC NEWS | Business | PC World owner reports £30m loss

Useless staff, overpriced goods, hard selling of breakdown insurance, it won't be missed.

Internet shopping is the way forward

David Lock

It would be nice to see some of their premises turned into covered market areas where specialist local businesses, who cannot afford the rates and overheads of a high street shop, could have a presence. I mean a permanent base, not just a few trestle tables on a Saturday morning selling tat. But they would be sharing the overheads which might be workable? Try and get back some of the businesses that have closed in recent years like say, a model shop, a fishmonger, dress makers etc. Add the modern touch like a creche perhaps with a central area to have a snack and coffee. Can't see it happening though! dl

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Not always. Bought a fridge freezer from them a few weeks ago. Online so free delivery. They were £100 cheaper than anyone else and after the fun with the washing machine from another company (which was delivered to the wrong address then turned up in a dirty van with only one bloke so i had to help him unload it) the service was great. Delivered a day late as requested, to the right address and called ahead to say they were on their way. couldn't fault them.

5t.

richardg

nice idea and i agree it would be good to see this sort of thing again. the problem is that it's more difficult to fund than other types of property - as the rental income may well be higher (actually it would need to be higher than if let to a larger company in order to make financial sense as a bank even in good times wouldn't usually fund a commercial property speculatively unless there were some other form of development included). on the other hand, banks used to be happier to lend to a landlord if they had a good tenant in there - however as we all know, even many of the large firms are struggling at the moment, and if they go bust, then getting rent out of them is like getting blood out of a stone!

markets like this were common towards the end of the 80's where people had been buying up town centre supermarkets (as the trend shifted to out of town) for later retail development. the market was climbing still, so those who had bought and then caught a cold, did the best they could with the portfolios at the time - exactly what you have described above.....maybe it will go full circle...?

richardg

martin's money tips? i forwarded that to mrs g this morning (about 2am GMT). presume she knows though as she will have heard about woolies on the radio i expect.

used to buy clothes there for little miss g but never really anything else, so it's a shame, but they won't be the last to go

Leslie

It was reported that there are some buyers showing interest in Woolies. I really hope that there is a successful buyout, bot for the firm's sake and the employees.

Les

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Saw this on the news and having worked there for a year a while back, in the IT dept with BurgerKing it does sadden me, shame for all the employees having this land, at any time its bad but before Christmas its worse.

I think it wasnt so much that Woolies were caught napping, having worked there my abiding impression was that they were always hustling to try and claw back some market share, Tesco's and the other big shops moving out into Woolies key areas is a big part of it, the internet obviously but they did have a fairly good site but with Amazon and the like it was a tough area to be in.

Also, being in the high street and a lot of people going to out of town shopping centres (something they were never very good at) meant that the footfall was much lower as so many go everywhere by car, I remember as a kid going to Woolies in Stockport on the Bus with my mum, but as the retail parks emerged it became less common, same as retail parks are so souless and samey.

To be honest, when I was there last, 18 months ago there was still some optimism for the future of Woolies but I could see it ebbing away and there was a feeling of impending doom some days.

I suspect the name may go on in some form but a British institution has gone along with many jobs, so I think that some of the crass comments are uncalled for, I hope that the people that comment along those lines manage to keep their jobs and their employers dont go under.

I suppose on one hand, for BurgerKing, it may seem like doom and gloom mate but I think I remember you saying you fancied a change, the job market isnt great but with your skills I think you will be ok, you will probably end up better off, I must admit, I have been since leaving there, mainly cos I didnt have to work with that grumpy cow anymore

boxst

Their website has a very subtle

"Our site is currently undergoing essential maintenance. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Please check back later. "

Which looks as though someone has just pulled he plug on their servers.

Steve

Snazy

Deloitte say it will remain trading through Xmas, so I would guess that the shelves will fill back up soon, otherwise its a bit pointless keeping them open.

mate looks to lose his job right though it.

Coffin Dodger

Not necessarily, the liquidators will want to shift all the remaining stock if they can and pay off at least a percentage of what is owed to Woolies creditors. Probably start reducing the staffing as the stock levels get lower hence reducing ongoing costs further

stuart n

People who supply direct to the stores i.e. Walkers crisps will no longer be delivering. Basically when the Woolworths warehouses run out of stock that will be that unless somebody takes them over in their current form, which seems unlikely.
The store my Mum runs think they have enough stock to get through the weekend, after that it's anyones guess what will happen.

Snazy

Aaah good point I guess mate. Fingers crossed there is some sort of rescue out there, the job losses are going to be horrific.
However im sure we will get told that we are in the best position to cope with the downturn, and that our leaders are getting on with the job.

Matteeboy

I have never been able to understand how PC World survives.

I have gone in there TWICE with the intention of buying a laptop and ended up almost storming out when almost ignored and treated like a turd. And when I have managed to speak to someone, I always know MUCH more than them. Utterly hopeless mega outlet. I hate them and would only go in the direst of dire emergencies (e.g. needed some software).
Tech Guys who they own have made things slightly better - but only very slightly.

boxst

PCWorld are good for people like me who are impatient. I can find something I want on their website, reserve it and go and pick it up all within 20 minutes. The prices are not generally that much higher (on the things that I buy anyway) when you include postage from places like eBuyer or Overclockers.

The staff are a different issue altogether as they generally do not have a clue and just prey on the old and unknowledgable.

Steve

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

That's fine - in fact it's the best way I've seen for a company to use its 'bricks and mortar' presence to gain a competitive advantage on the web site. On many occasions I've ordered stuff online and gone straight to the store to pick it up.

The price difference if you DON'T order in advance can be pretty shocking, though...

Last year I wanted to buy a laptop, and I figured it was as good a place as any to start looking. But, without exception, every single one was showing a looping video advertising the store and Windows bl**dy Vista, which you couldn't break out of without a password. How am I supposed to check if the keyboard is comfortable and responsive if I can't even fire up Notepad?

(And no, I don't want to be 'helped' by someone who can barely read the tech specs off the little cards with the price tags in lieu of actual advice, and who will tell me to get a faster CPU so I can surf the Internet quicker...)

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Doesnt stop you coming on here

Stephb1986

Yeah got it off Martin but whats the point in having 10% off if you have non of it in stock and not going to get it any time soon.

Its a real shame, when i was a kid and it was easter woolies used to do buy one get one free on easter eggs a few days after easter me and my brother used to go in and buy like 10 easter eggs

I'll miss doing that now!

Steph xx

Clarebabes

I thought I'd do my bit and get my daughter some clothes for Christmas in there yesterday. Asked for a gift receipt in case the clothes don't fit, but I guess the paper it's written on is more than it's worth now!

Oh well, good memories of Woolies. We ordered a bathroom cabinet a few weeks ago from MFI and even though everything is OK with it, I was loathed to pay £12 delivery for it, so they let us off for a fiver. It all went wrong for them when you couldn't collect stuff. They said it's because you needed huge amounts of space to keep things in stock. I thought IKEA are doing OK by having most things in stock!

Oh well, sorry if anyone's affected by this. At least working for the public sector I can rest a bit easier.