Woolies was all the things it has been accused of as the media have watched it draw it's last corporate breath, directionless, tatty, low end etc. etc. etc but for all that it was an institution and who among you can honestly say it doesn't have a place in your childhood memories or that you never popped in from time to time when it was the only shop in your high street that sold some obscure item you desperately needed!Woolies will be synonymous for me with pick and mix, household hardware and all those dreadful compilation vinyls we bought as teenagers, way back far too many decades than I care to remember. It was the place where you went with your posse of 14 year old mates and pulled funny faces in the photo booth on a Saturday afternoon, in an era (God forbid)when mobile phones hadn't been thought of let alone included cameras. It was where we bought 'Brut' for our fathers, nasty rose bath salts for granny and probably our very first make-up and despite it's faults I still regularly went there for odds and sods and a lottery ticket!
Ours here I have to say had some of the best behaved and trained retail staff I have come across, way better than many in some high end stores, staff that actually knew the meaning of the words 'polite' and 'service'(and believe me after 25 years in the business I am picky)and watching them work there last few minutes, with the receivers actually standing over them waiting to dismiss them made me feel quite sad...but you know what, right to the end they still behaved well and did their jobs without a hint of their own future worries!
Perversely, with the announcement a few weeks ago that good old Woolies was about to be consigned to the scrap heap, the branch here became really busy, even prior to the sales....maybe a case of we don't appreciate things until they are gone?
It might not have been Fortnums but I'll quite miss it.
10 Comments:
My Woolworths in America closed over 30 years ago. When my mom took us shopping downtown, we always had lunch at Woolworths. I always ordered a ham salad sandwich, which I can still taste to this day.
7 or 8 in my region were among the first to go and have been closed for over a week now. It is sad but I can't remember the last time I was in. I know I bought my first single there! Very sad though...many will follow! (oh woe is me!)
Our Woolworths closed years ago. I fondly remember going there with my Grandma when I came into the city for a visit. My favourite was hot turkey sandwiches with gravy...and coke in a cone shaped paper cup.
Yes it is sad. They might have been tatty and sell low end stuff most of the time but the kids toys were great and very well priced. I will certainly be someone who misses Woolies very much :o(
They certainly lost direction in the UK over the last few years but I do remember going to the Leeds branch numerous times for my Pick 'n Mix.....and the odd cooking utensil.
The parent company in the US closed a decade ago but independent stores operate in several other countries.
30,000 out of work will be a huge drain on the benefits system and given the current retail climate, I doubt they'll find new jobs anytime soon.
A sad time indeed.....
I'll miss woolworths too. My hometown ALWAYS had a woolies, and i had one locally to me once i moved to glasgow's west end. it's like losing a friend, in a way!
I remember the Woolworths in Springfield, IL, which was the only major city within a reasonable drive from my little home town. We occasionally ate at the lunch counter, and did some shopping there when I was a child. It's been gone for a long time. I believe Woolworths closed in the US in '97.
Ours was a "five and dime" back then. Yours was apparently cheaper ad 3 & 6. LOL
They long ago disappeared from here. They became Woolco, and that disappeared too.
I spoke to one young man in the local shop as to how he felt about it, and he told me that this was his first job....and he didn't know what he would do now....the beginning of despair after getting his first job....poor lad
I filmed my local Woolworths for nostalgic reasons! (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_fBGhDEGvU8) its sorry to see a thriving shop end up in such a state!
Post a Comment