Woolworths: everything must go

[Bozita]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/nov/23/woolworths-shopping-business

Woolworths: everything must go
Jaded shoppers deliver their verdict on the chain store that could go under this week

Zoe Wood and Heather Stewart
guardian.co.uk, Sunday November 23 2008 00.01 GMT
The Observer, Sunday November 23 2008
Article history

For 30,000 Woolworths staff it may be a bleak Christmas as it became clear yesterday that the veteran high-street retailer could go under this week if management cannot clinch a fire sale.

Woolworths evokes nostalgia for precious pocket money spent on bottles of cola and ill-advised chart singles by Bucks Fizz. Last week it became clear that Woolworths itself was worth only pocket money, with management in talks to sell the 800-store chain for £1.

The collapse of Woolworths would be by far the largest retail failure this year, symbolising the high street's woes.

-snip-

Frank Woolworth opened his first store, in Utica, New York State, in 1879 with the gimmick that everything was priced at five cents. It failed because it was too far out of the town centre, but a second shop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, became a roaring success. He soon varied the formula, selling some goods at 10 cents, and the famous 'five-and-dime' store was born.

• Woolworth visited England in 1890 and wrote in his diary: 'A good penny and sixpence store, run by a live Yankee, would be a sensation here.' The first store was opened on Church Street, Liverpool, in 1909 and the British offshoot became more successful than its American parent.

• Sweets sold by weight - later called the 'pic 'n' mix' - were a key part of Woolworth's formula. When the Liverpool branch opened, the entire stock of sweets sold out on the first day.

• By the 1930s, Woolworth was opening a store every fortnight in Britain. When the Second World War broke out, it had 759 branches.

• Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton - Frank's granddaughter, pictured at her wedding to film star Cary Grant - was known as the 'poor little rich girl'. By the time she died in 1979, Hutton had run through seven husbands and most of her $500m inheritance.

-snip-

more...

[texanwitch]

1. I didn't know that Woolworth was still open.

Ours closed many years ago.

I do miss the store, we had a great one in downtown Houston.

[hlthe2b]

3. They folded in the US many years ago.. apparently not in UK

[OhioChick]

13. I haven't seen a Woolworths since I was a little kid here. n/t

[hlthe2b]

15. The last one I remember was in Santa Fe, NM--

right on the plaza and still had the lunch counter, where they served up a pretty popular Mexican dish or two. That had to be ten years ago or more since they closed though. Too bad, as it sort of gave a quirky balance to the more kitschy aspects of Santa Fe.

[OhioChick]

18. That brings back memories....

Our Woolworth's was located in the mall and I too, can remember that lunch counter. We'd beg my mother to stop in to eat. That had to have been at least 30 years ago.....:wow:

[hlthe2b]

25. Yeah.. that's why the Santa Fe one stands out...

most Woolworths had already closed by that point and it was one of the last... Not all change is good....:shrug:

[Mojorabbit]

40. They made the best

BLT I have ever had. Never have found another place that even came close.

[texanwitch]

17. Way back when I was a little kid downtown Houstons was the place to go shopping.

We had Woolworth's and two other similar stores.

Woolworth's was always fun to go to.

A kid could buy a lot for a couple of dollars back then.

They also had two lunch counters and a snack counter near the front of the store.

It's basement was a bomb shelter, I always wondered what it looked like.

It was a sad day when the store closed.

[T_i_B]

48. We still have Woolies on most high streets in the UK

Although I personally prefer Wilkinson's, or maybe John Lewis if I'm feeling posh.

[malaise]

4. We still have one left here in Jamaica

There used to be three.

[Roon]

5. Aren't woolworth and woolco owned by the same people?

I just remember the jingle I used to hear on the TV..it ended with them singing...woolworth...woolco....

I remember our woolco when I was a kid. It closed about 30 years ago. One thing I remember about the store was in the garden section outside of the store, they had a little in ground pool filled with water. Wasn't big enough to swim in or anything. But there was always a beach ball floating in it. I can't believe that I remember that.

[Lorien]

14. Me either. We had them all over Ohio until the mid 1980s or so

It used to be a big deal for my grandmother to take us kids to the "five and ten" when we were little. The Woolworths in Wadsworth, Ohio hadn't changed much since it opened in the early 1930s. Sad to see such things fade away.

[DS1]

2. Wow

I'd always thought Woolworth was a British store, because when I moved to the US I couldn't find any!

[charlie]

6. Woolworth's Five and Dime

They were the original "dollar store" on this side of the Atlantic. It's where you went for cheap sundries.

[RagAss]

7. ...and pet turtles !

[charlie]

11. Lol!

And them too, yep. I'd forgotten about that.

[Bozita]

21. Even as a kid, I never understood the paint jobs and decals on those tiny turtles.

[eridani]

47. I remember one of our local musician's joke about how expensive his tortoise shell picks were

He remembered Woolworth's where you could get a whole little tortoise for a quarter. "But the little legs kept getting stuck in the strings."

[texanwitch]

23. Woolworth's sold many small animals including fish and birds.

I would buy guppies from Woolworth's.

[RagAss]

28. Yes and every now and then a bird would get loose and reak havok !...LOL

[texanwitch]

29. I remember a bird or two flying around in the basement where the pet department was.

I know people who bought birds from the store, the birds were always healthy.

[shanti]

39. yup

i bought a parakeet, finch or two from them :)

[JVS]

44. Ours went under long ago

[Liberal_in_LA]

46. Woolsworth left LA loooong time ago.

[Canuckistanian]

8. I remember when they bailed out of Canada in the 80s

We used to have a Woolworth's in our little suburb of Toronto. It was a staple in our town.

It was where everything was happening - a lunch counter, pet shop, record shop, toy store, you name it.

But it was much more than that. They had local community events there too. Guest appearances with Toronto celebrities, Yo-Yo demonstrations, model car contests, fashion shows....

Then all of a sudden, it was announced that the store was closing. There was a "fire sale" - everything must go. 50% off the first day. 60% off the second day, etc..... All the Canadian stores were doing the same thing.

On the last day, they were selling off everything at 10c on the dollar. That's right, 90% off. The place was mobbed.

The next day, it was closed forever. I was never so sad to see a store close.

[orleans]

45. sad.

our store in town closed years ago and wasn't the hot spot that yours was. we had another in a big mall a couple towns away--that closed a few years later.

i always liked them--but the one at the mall, i remember, was getting pretty junked up--not enough employees and there would be crap all over the aisles making it hard to walk around and nearly impossible to maneuver the little shopping cart.

[noel711]

9. They diversified too much.. spread themselves too thin..

had too many stores... musta been in '79 they reincorporated as "Foot Locker"
go figure.

Twas a shame; the local 5 & Dime was many a Main Street staple.

Some say they 'morphed' into Dollar Stores. But Dollar Stores sell mostly
foreign overstocks. At a 5 & Dime you could get just about anything...

My daughter asked me once: "Mom, did you have Dollar Stores when you were a kid?"

I told her back then we called them Dime Stores.. hmmm.

[Canuckistanian]

12. Woolworth's became 'Foot Locker'??

The sporting goods store?

That is just bizarre. I would never have made the connection between the two.

[Blue Diadem]

24. Here's some info on that:

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/F.W.-Woolworth-Company

On July 17, 1997, Woolworth closed the remaining 400 of its F.W. Woolworth five-and-ten-cent stores and changed its name to Venator.


Analysts at the time cited the lower prices of the big discount stores and the expansion of grocery stores to carry most of the items five-and-ten-cent stores carried as factors in the stores' lack of success in the late 20th century. In that same year Wal-Mart replaced Woolworth on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Transition to Foot Locker, Inc.
In 1999, Venator moved out of the Woolworth building to offices on 34th Street. On October 20, 2001, the company changed names again; this time, it took the name of its top retail performer and became Foot Locker, Inc., with specialisation in athletic clothing and footwear. October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Foot Locker Incorporated is an sportswear retailer based in the United States. ...


In 2004, Foot Locker acquired the Footaction athletic store chain. Foot Locker Incorporated is an sportswear retailer based in the United States. ...

[rurallib]

26. delete

[Muttocracy]

10. I thought it had started in the UK, didn't realize it was not far from me. I miss Woolworth's

and many of the other discount stores. Ames is gone from NY, I know Boston lost a bunch of chains (Caldor's? a few others I'm forgetting, I think one started with a Z). There were a whole bunch when I was a kid Hills, Roses, K-Mart, and a whole bunch more drug store chains too.

[Gormy Cuss]

20. Zayre's

and Bradlees are other long gone discount stores in the Northeast.

[asthmaticeog]

22. I bought my first radio at a Zayre's.

Yeesh, I'm not even 40 yet, why does that make me feel so old?

[Muttocracy]

27. yes, those are the two I was trying to remember

my parents lived in New England before I was born and my sister shopped at the same stores when she was in college. Now they're all gone but WalMart and Target.

[xloadiex]

33. In Chicago we had

Community (going back about 45 years)Woolworth, Ben Franklin, Zayre's, Venture,and my mom's beloved grocery store A&P. All gone but they bring back many memories.

[FirstLight]

16. wow...too bad

The lunch counter and ice cream were always a big deal. I would walk with my grandma and go get an ice cream down the block, it may have been like 50 cents a scoop... yikes now I really feel old!

I think the only time I ever had a five-finger discount was a dare to take some nail polish at the woolworth's in the mall as a teen... I can't beleive I remember that either! I was 13, trippy...

I used to like going in there and looking for clothes for cheap and wil stuff for my more "punk rock"
style too...they had cheap makeup and fun stuff like old lady panties we would joke about...


I think they were gone by the late 80s..?
sad to think that they are going to be gone for good, dollar stores are crap. I miss the lunch counters in stores like that.

[MazeRat7]

19. Sad to see an icon go....

Shopped there with my grandmother in the 60's. Those were the American stores before they folded. Making the drive into town and her letting me get a "small" something there or at the "Western Auto" on the Saturday's I visited are some of my fondest memories of an era long lost.

There is a new reality, one which our children have yet to experience but soon will. While there will be more Woolworths in the year to come, the upside is that our children will be forced to live more responsibly, within their means, and to give back something to their neighbors.

Seems life is indeed a series of circles.

Sigh... I can only hope.

Peace,
MZr7

[On the Road]

30. " It's high time for a walk on the real side...

Everything Must Go
Artist: Steely Dan
Album: Everything Must Go

It's high time for a walk on the real side
Let's admit the bastards beat us
I move to dissolve the corporation
In a pool of margaritas
So let's switch off all the lights
Light up all the Luckies
Crankin' up the afterglow
Cause we're goin' out of business
Everything must go

Talk about your major pain and suffering
Now our self-esteem is shattered
Show the world a mighty hidey-ho face
As we go sliding down the ladder

It was sweet up at the top
'Til that ill wind started blowing
Now it's cozy down below
'Cause we're goin' out of business
Everything must go

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/steely-dan/everything-must-go.html

YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD0RGUfoQGs

A wonderful saxophone solo by Walt Weiskopf. Donald Fagan is still doing great work.

[undeterred]

31. Wow, when I was a child I did all my Christmas shopping there.

Its been a long time since I've even been in a Woolworth, but I can remember that you could buy just about anything there, from penny candy, to games, to underwear. We used to buy candy at Woolworth's for a total of 15 cents before going to the movie theatre for 35 cents.

[underpants]

32. The bolt action magazine fed shotgun we have is from Woolworth's

end of an era

I didn't know that they were still open

[NikolaC]

34. I Didn't Know They Still Existed

I remember when they closed a whole slew of stores years ago.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

35. I hated going there as a kid

Their pet department was so sad. They always had dead animals in the cages/tanks.

[1776Forever]

36. For a lot of us old timers Woolworth's was a wonderful place especially at Christmas

I was just thinking about that the other day. The aisles of toys and dolls and all "dressed" up for Christmas with the lights and the decorations. This was pre-Wal-Mart and we actually had 2 5 & Dime stores in my town! What a fun place to visit. Now they are just a memory and Wal-Mart is the only game in town around here except for Sears which has very little toys to choose from.

[rebel with a cause]

37. That is pretty much what our Woolworth looked like.

When I was little, it was where I went to buy my paper dolls and my teenage sisters went to buy their toiletries. At Christmas it did indeed have more toys, but our area furniture store was the one that turned into Santa's toy/wish land. Woolworth was more the store for the smaller gifts while the bigger items were bought as Campbell's Furniture Store. I did buy all my Christman presents at Woolworth one year for $1 when I was about nine years old. (I bought a present for each of my four sisters and parents.)

Our Woolworth's did not have a lunch counter or soda fountain, those were at the drugstores. It did have a pet department with birds and fish.

Our Woolworth closed shortly after the Wal-Mart came in a little over thirty years ago, and like the other small town business' in our town, I was not sad to see it go. As a kid I remember the signs in the windows that said they reserved the right to refuse service to some, and I remember when they did just that to travelers who happened to stop there on their way through town. I remember being followed and watched when we were not dressed in the manner of the 'in crowd' and went into those stores. (I never dressed in that manner.) I remember the clerks rudeness and how I hated to have to buy things there because there was no other place to get them. I got better treatment when they knew who my father was, he was one of them. I never felt like I was.

I miss some of the things from my childhood, the wonder of it all, but I do not miss the feelings I had when I shopped in those small town stores, or the treatment that was given to many people who did not live up even to the five and dime standards.

[1776Forever]

42. I grew up in Ohio and we had none of that problem. Everyone was welcome.

I am sorry you had such a bad feeling about your small stores. I personally miss them very much as we had 8 stores that I remember and all of them offered different things. Now there are only a few.

[hlthe2b]

51. God... what we lost and are left with Walmart... Damn..

do I hate Walmart...

[shanti]

38. k street mall, sacramento

that was the last one i remember, almost 20 years ago. it even had a lunch counter and an escalator to the downstairs with the pet department.

i remember in the 70's me and sis wearing our "woolworth shoes". they were wedgies made of cloth, "old ladies" shoes, but cool as hell.

[Hannah Bell]

49. I loved those too! They sold them for years, They had lots of stuff like that,

odd things you couldn't get elsewhere.

[babylonsister]

41. Me and my mom used to go there. Memories. Ask me about the screw. nt

[starroute]

43. It seems to me I recall boycotting Woolworth's one year

Maybe over civil rights lunch counter sit-ins? Let me see if I can google up something on that ...

Ah, yes, Wikipedia's got it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._W._Woolworth_Company

On February 1, 1960, four African-American students sat down at a segregated lunch counter in a Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth's store. They were refused service, touching off six months of sit-ins and economic boycotts that became a landmark event in the U.S. civil-rights movement. In 1993, an eight-foot section of the lunch counter was moved to the Smithsonian Institution.

Yeah, it's coming back to me now. Made a big impression on me when I was 13.

Woolworth's was never the only 5&10, though. The nearest Woolworth's was some five or six blocks away from where I lived as a kid -- but there was a Lamston's down at the corner, where I used to buy a new pink Spaulding ball each year for 19 cents. I guess that was a New York City chain only, and they seem to have vanished in the 80's.

The town where I live now actually still has an old-time 5 & 10, complete with lunch counter and lots of traditional merchandise that you can't find anywhere else. I think it keeps going mostly because the family that has owned it for generations is too stubborn to quit. (Oh, here's a YouTube about it. Cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MMQyGWIEIE)

[Prophet 451]

50. Always thought they started here

That is, Britain. You can still find them on most high streets here and they were, for a long time, the country's biggest retailer of chart music.