Woolworths. Those shops often housed in art-deco buildings, a ubiquitous retailer. I have been a customer of Woolworths for nearly half a century. I used to buy fishing stuff from them when I was a wee boy, when the floor was polished wood and the goods were sold from large rectangular counter/gondola displays. Then when I was a bit older it was packs of five cassettes or the latest album or single. Even now hardly a week goes by without my visiting Woolies in Dumbarton or Helensburgh for a light bulb or a CD or a screwdriver or maybe some pic ‘n’ mix. From a local perspective, Woolworths is almost as much a part of Dumbarton as Dumbarton Rock or the Rivers Clyde or Leven. I’m sure this kind of association will be typical from towns accross the UK. They tended to occupy the same site in towns, often refurbishing, rarely expanding or relocating.
And now the following news from the Times:
“Woolworths, the iconic 99-year-old six-penny retail chain, is on the verge of collapsing into corporate bankruptcy despite desperate last-ditch government efforts to save it.
The board of Woolworths plc, believing it had exhausted all its other options, met at 6pm at the retailer’s central London headquarters to vote on a move that threatens thousands of British jobs.
Here they will agree to put two of Wooworths’ subsidiaries – its 815 store high street arm and its DVD distribution business EUK, which between them employ nearly 30,000 people – into corporate bankruptcy or administration.”
I sincerely hope that a way can be found to facilitate Woolies’ long term survival. I know many of the staff in the Dumbarton branch. It is a great resource and I hope that it, and the jobs it provides, survives.
