Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in Columbus , Ohio , by the F. W. Woolworth Company . It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At its peak, Woolco had hundreds of stores in the US, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom . While the American stores were closed in 1983, the chain remained active in Canada until it was sold in 1994 to rival Walmart , which was looking to enter the Canadian market. All of the former UK Woolco stores were sold by Kingfisher , which had bought the UK Woolworth business, to Gateway which subsequently sold them to Asda .
77-695: The creation of Woolco coincided with the expansion of suburbia. Woolworth's flagship stores were still doing well, but the company wanted to tap into the growing discount department store market without diluting its dominant position in the variety store business. The first Woolco store was located in Columbus, Ohio . By 1966, there were 18 in the United States and nine in Canada. Plans were for 30 stores to be added per year. This led to tremendous growth as over 300 Woolco stores opened up across North America by
154-542: A £E 2.5 shop. Miniso is a Chinese variety store chain that specializes in household and consumer goods including cosmetics , stationery , toys, and kitchenware. In 2016, the company's sales revenue reached $ 1.5 billion. Miniso has expanded outside of the Chinese market and operates 1,800 stores in Asia, Europe, Oceania , Africa, North America, and South America. Woolworths Group (United Kingdom) Woolworths
231-473: A $ 56 billion industry. Colliers International claims there are more dollar stores than drug stores. With stores of other types closing in large numbers, dollar stores often replace other types of stores in shopping centers. They succeed partly because of impulse purchases . The common term in North America for a small general merchandise store is general store . Frank Winfield Woolworth had seen
308-613: A Boston store, also offered his assistance and set sail with the other volunteers on the steam boat Kaiserin Auguste Victoria on 29 May 1909 for England from Hoboken. Frank Woolworth expected other members of staff to admire the volunteers in establishing FW Woolworth & Co in Britain. However, Carson C. Peck, vice president and general manager of the company, had reservations with enlisting staff members to travel to Britain, questioning whether Woolworth had indeed created
385-493: A bigger impact in Canada than it did in the US. The Woolco was re-branded F. W. Woolworth stores in the 1980s, but Woolworth-branded stores had been in Canada around 1904. There were 160 Woolco stores in Canada at dissolution, the chain having survived another 11 years in Canada after the US closure and before being bought out by Walmart Canada . They were so well known that Canadian songwriters Leon Dubinsky and Max MacDonald even wrote
462-441: A category, are different from general merchandise superstores, hypermarkets (such as those operated by Target and Walmart ), warehouse clubs (such as Costco ), grocery stores , or department stores . Dollar stores that sell food have been alleged to create food deserts : areas with limited access to affordable and healthy food. This is alleged to occur when dollar stores outcompete local businesses, and soon become some of
539-475: A common practice among early discounters. Starting in the late 1970s, Woolworth enacted a cost-saving plan for Woolco that included a reduction in floor space for the largest locations, the elimination of most leased departments and an expansion into smaller markets with stores as small as 60,000 square feet (5,600 m). During this period, the excess space in some larger Woolco stores went to Woolworth-owned J. Brannam. J. Brannam, short for "Just Brand Names",
616-423: A contingency plan in the event of failure so as to facilitate escape from any financial liability. Despite these reservations, the store proved to be a success; large queues outside and low priced 3d. and 6d. ("threepenny and sixpenny") items leading to it being almost stripped bare of goods before the end of the first day of trading and being attributed to mass purchased mass-produced foreign and local goods. At
693-575: A few years due to disappointing trade. In an attempt to raise the group's corporate profile under the chairmanship of Gerald Corbett , Woolworths sponsored a show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2004. Designed by a group of graduate students from Pickard School of Garden Design, the contemporary-formal style garden was awarded a silver medal. In the middle of 2006 the business launched an in-store collection service for items ordered on their website or in-store, to complement
770-506: A general importer and then sold to the stores wholesale . Another source of stock is overruns, surplus items and out-of-date food products. Real Deals, a regional dollar store in the Syracuse , New York area, is stocked almost entirely with surplus goods such as these. The legality of selling out-of-date goods varies between jurisdictions: in general, most items (with a few exceptions, particularly certain perishable food items depending on
847-627: A grand opening in the U.S. was the September 29, 1982, launch of the Luling, Louisiana at St. Charles Plaza, store which was five days after the chain's announcement of closing all stores. By January 1983, all 336 stores were shuttered. Woolco's inventory was valued at approximately $ 1 billion, making Woolco's liquidation the largest in United States history at the time. However, the Canadian division of approximately 120 stores remained open. In 1982,
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#1732772535848924-435: A live Yankee, would be a sensation here. During the buying trip, Woolworth met a young clerk, William Lawrence Stephenson, who was recommended to him by John Wanamaker . Wanamaker had established a large chain of department stores across the United States and was one of Woolworth's heroes. Stephenson was invited to London to meet Woolworth again, and was offered the job as director of the new company, which he accepted. After
1001-574: A major fire in 1969. The store, which opened in 1913, was spread over four floors and sustained extensive damage, requiring a total refit. The store was not open to the public at the time and the building was evacuated, avoiding fatalities, although some staff suffered minor injuries. It took several hours for the fire to be fully extinguished. In 1982, the British Woolworths and its sister chain B&;Q were acquired by Paternoster Stores Ltd,
1078-478: A major shareholder of Woolworths, criticised the closures. On 19 January 2009, the owner, Woolworths Group, announced its intention to also enter administration, as it could no longer pay its debts. The application was heard by the High Court on 27 January, and Woolworths Group PLC entered administration. The trade unions complained of the collective redundancies and they started various legal actions before
1155-534: A mil (referring to the one thousand Chilean pesos banknote). They are commonly located in middle-class neighbourhoods where big retail stores don't usually venture and in small commercial districts like the ones in Santiago . Variety stores in Colombia include Dollar City (Colombia version of Dollarama), D1, Ara, Miniso In South America, variety stores may be known as: In Egypt, a variety store may be called
1232-676: A popular song called "Working at the Woolco Manager Trainee Blues" (1977). During the 1970s and 1980s, the Canadian stores were well known for their monthly "$ 1.44 Days", wherein numerous items were sold at a price of $ 1.44 CAD . Competitors Woodward's & Eaton's ran "$ 1.49 Days" usually the first Monday each month. Most stores also contained an automotive and tire service department. Most stores in Canada had an in-store restaurant section. These restaurants were named Red Grille or Strawberry Street Cafeteria, except in
1309-568: A reduced debt load. Ardeshir Naghshineh criticised the plan, recommending instead that the company sell some of the stores to raise more funds. The group's banks, GMAC and Burdale , rejected the deal and recalled their loans, forcing the group to place the retail business and Entertainment UK into administration . On 26 November 2008, the trading of shares in Woolworths PLC was suspended, and Neville Kahn, Dan Butters and Nick Dargan of Deloitte were appointed joint administrators. When
1386-515: A strategy of major expansion, with the company buying or building freehold properties. Many of the stores had distinctive faience tiled art deco frontages. The expansion was funded entirely out of earnings and without any borrowing or further capitalisation. The 400th branch, at Southport, Lancashire, opened on 12 July 1930, and the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1931. The US parent company reduced its holding in
1463-545: A traditional brass band in the refreshment room. The event was reported positively by the local newspaper, the Liverpool Courier , which praised the decor of the stores along with the value and range of items on sale. Despite local press praise, British national newspaper the Daily Mail likened Frank Woolworth to American showman P. T. Barnum and claimed that the store location had been decided as part of
1540-578: A wide variety of products including confectionery, electricals, alcohol, jewellery, perfumes and clothing. Woolworths had a strongly unionised workforce, with shop stewards such as Paul Thompson of Unite (formerly the Transport and General Workers' Union ) particularly active in the north of the UK. In July 2008, the board rejected a bid from Iceland founder Malcolm Walker to buy Woolworths' 819 stores for £50m. Walker's bid did not include Entertainment UK or
1617-528: A year. Studies of food discounters in Great Britain show quite a varied demographic, and 99p Stores reported an increase in higher-income customers after the financial crisis of 2007–2008 . Dollar stores have been alleged by a number of studies, individuals, and organizations to proliferate food deserts : areas with limited access to healthy and affordable food. Dollar stores are alleged to outcompete local grocery stores, and end up being one of
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#17327725358481694-508: Is a good deal like asking a boy to volunteer to go into a bear's den when he does not know whether he is to eat a nicely cooked luscious bear's steak, or be eaten by a great, big black bear. Despite reservations such as Peck's, the decision to launch stores in the United Kingdom went ahead as previously planned by Woolworth. He considered several locations for the first stores, together with future possible sites. The chosen location for
1771-497: Is considered an after-effect of a decade-long recession of the Japanese economy. Despite the emphasis on value, however, some items, such as chocolate bars, may be priced higher than they are at other stores. For a few years, 100-yen shops existed not as permanent stores, but as vendors under temporary, foldable tents. They were (and still are) typically found near the entrance areas of supermarkets. A major player in 100-yen shops
1848-619: Is the Daiso chain. The first store opened in 1991, and there are now around 2,400 stores in Japan. This number is increasing by around 40 stores per month. Daiso has also expanded into North America, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East. In China, ¥ 2 (or ¥3, depending on the area's economic prosperity) shops have become a common sight in most cities. In Hong Kong, major department stores have opened their own $ 10 shops (US$ 1.28) to compete in
1925-500: The Big W brand, similar to Wal-Mart in the US. Although it was successful at the beginning, the format failed to catch on; the original plan had relied upon leveraging the involvement of other Kingfisher group retailers, but following the de-merger this was no longer possible. Following a period of losses, Woolworths confirmed in 2004 it would abandon the Big W concept. The group sold seven of
2002-486: The 1950s and 1960s, Americans shopped more and more in malls rather than downtown shopping districts and although Newberry's and Woolworth's stores did open in the malls, starting around the 1970s, variety stores lost business to other retail formats such as office stores, low-price shoe chains, fabric stores, toy stores and discount drug stores like Thrifty Drug Stores . Grocery stores and drug stores sold more and more candy. The last US Woolworth's closed in 1997. Newberry's
2079-714: The 1990s which sold music and confectionery. Smaller outlets with a similar format were also tried at the Sheffield Meadowhall Shopping Centre, but closed in 2003; the Manchester Music and Video store was superseded by a larger MVC store, owned by Woolworths Group. In the late 1990s, the management extended the Woolworths brand into other retail formats and alternative channels to accelerate growth by taking advantage of changing retail trends. Some larger-format stores were opened under
2156-442: The 21 Big W stores in 2005 to Tesco and Asda. The gross internal floor area of the remaining sites was reduced to an optimum trading size of around 40,000 to 50,000 square feet (4,600 m ). Following this, they were rebranded as Woolworths Out of Town stores. The newly independent Woolworths faced severe competitive and financial pressures. The market for physical copies of music, one of Woolworths' main money spinners, shrank in
2233-426: The Big W chain and sold some of the stores to supermarket chains Asda and Tesco . Woolworths rebranded the Big W stores they kept under their own name and they remained until Woolworths' administration in 2008. In 1990, 26 Woolworth stores in Canada were converted to Woolco because of their larger size. On January 14, 1994, in order to repay the $ 1.7 billion debt incurred from international specialty store expansion,
2310-612: The Founding Fathers of the district to a small "farm in middle England". When Frank eventually travelled to England in 1890, he docked in Liverpool and travelled by train to Stoke-on-Trent for the purchase of china and glassware for Woolworth's ranges, but also noted his love of England in his diary and his aspirations for bringing the Woolworth name to England: I believe that a good penny and sixpence store, run by
2387-529: The Republic of Ireland market. About 32 potential locations were identified that could support a Woolworths store. However, the project did not proceed beyond the market research phase. During the 1980s, management rationalised merchandise lines into clearly defined categories: entertainment, home, children (toys and clothing) and confectionery. Many Woolworths branches were downsized during this time. Older branches in major cities were sometimes almost as large as
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2464-493: The U.S. were Dollar General , Dollar Tree (which owns Family Dollar ), the 99 Cents Only Stores , and Five Below . Increasing revenue has led to growth for dollar store chains: by 2018, Dollar Tree had 14,000 locations in the U.S., and its expansion continued; in 2019, Dollar General had 15,000 locations in the US, and its expansion continued; and Five Below had 745 stores. In Japan, 100-yen shops (百円ショップ hyaku-en shoppu or 百均 hyakkin) have proliferated since around 2001. This
2541-624: The UK stores were spun off along with the British Woolworths chain in the same year. in 1986, Woolworths sold the Woolco stores to Gateway , exiting them out of their ownership. Gateway then soon sold the stores again to Asda in 1988. In the UK, Woolworths' then-parent company Kingfisher plc attempted to revive the style of Woolco with the Big W chain in 1999, which was successful but suffered when Woolworths split into its own company in 2001, and in 2004, Woolworths Group PLC scrapped
2618-603: The UK tribunals based on the absence of proper consultation of the employee representatives. The UK Court of Appeal referred the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union which partially disagreed with the unions by an important decision of 30 April 2015. In January 2024, it was announced that Woolworths may make a return 15 years after it closed, when the German company announced its expansion throughout Europe and
2695-524: The UK was one of its high priorites and this looks more likely, following the closure of Wilko just a year earlier in the UK. In October 2020, an unverified Twitter account named @UKWoolworths announced that Woolworths UK was planning to relaunch. The announcement was reported by dozens of mainstream British websites, including MailOnline and the Daily Mirror . Within hours the Very Group ,
2772-495: The US. US Dollar stores were founded by entrepreneur Gaurav Sahni, owner of Nanson Overseas Private Limited. Nanson, operated by Gaurav Sahni and his brother Gautam Sahni, has had an established sourcing and consolidation network for over two decades, with supply bases worldwide. Direct sourcing without intermediaries and stocking a large variety of merchandise as and when needed has given the company an advantage. In Russia, Fix Price started selling all its items at 30 roubles and as
2849-492: The United States, Dollar General and Family Dollar sell items at more or less than a dollar. Some stores also sell goods priced at multiples of the named price and, conversely, multiple items for the price. The discrepancy with the nominal price is also compounded if sales tax is added at the point of sale . In many countries, stock can be imported from others with lower variable costs, because of differences in wages, resource costs or taxation. Usually, goods are imported by
2926-571: The Woolworth Corporation sold most of the Woolco Canada stores to Walmart . Walmart did not acquire the Woolco stores that were either unionized or had downtown locations. Some Woolco stores were sold and re-opened as Zellers stores; when Zellers liquidated, some of those stores were later sold to Target Canada , which ceased operations itself in 2015 following bankruptcy. In a smaller, less crowded retail market, Woolco had
3003-565: The Woolworths brand, website, trademarks and intellectual property in the United Kingdom from The Very Group for an undisclosed sum. The British branch of the F. W. Woolworth Company , which had been founded in Pennsylvania, F. W. Woolworth & Co. Ltd , was founded by Frank Woolworth in Liverpool , England, on 5 November 1909. Frank Woolworth had ancestry in Woolley, Cambridgeshire — Frank claimed he had traced his ancestry through
3080-660: The already established in-store ordering system. In late September 2006, the Big Red Book was launched, to compete directly with the Argos catalogue. Woolworths launched the WorthIt! brand as a value range in 2007. The first advertising campaign for the brand aired on 15 June 2007 and introduced the characters of Wooly the sheep and Worth the sheepdog. Further advertising campaigns featured celebrities such as Rolf Harris , Jackie Chan and Kelly Osbourne . The brand covered
3157-492: The business grew, up to 55 roubles. It has now cancelled this practice and has become a typical discount store ). Marks & Spencer opened a stall in Kirkgate Market Leeds in 1884, proclaiming “Don’t ask the price, it’s a ’Penny”. Woolworth's opened its first store in the United Kingdom in 1909, when they were also colloquially known as " threepenny and sixpenny " stores, "3 d and 6d" being displayed on
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3234-623: The chain had stores as far west as Arizona and as far east as North Carolina. This expansion soon proved too strenuous for the chain, and all locations were shuttered by December 1985, citing "increased competition in discount retailing". By 1979, it became clear that the earlier cost-saving plan would not be enough to save Woolco from failure, so Woolworth combined the discount store operating unit with its variety stores and began to close stores in unprofitable markets including Chicago . On September 24, 1982, Woolco announced it would close all of its United States stores. The final Woolco store to have
3311-453: The company entered administration it had a debt of £385 million. The administrators announced that they were aiming to keep the company as a going concern over the crucial Christmas period, although analysts feared that any heavy discounting would create a domino effect and drag down other high street retailers. Deloitte later announced they had received "substantial interest" in Woolworths. When news of Woolworths' entry into administration
3388-890: The company to 51.7% at that time. In 1934, the 600th store was opened, in Wallington in Surrey . Expansion was effectively suspended between 1940 and 1950, owing to the Second World War and post-war restrictions, but then resumed. The 800th branch, at Wilton Road, Victoria, London, opened in September 1953. A store was opened in Kingston in Jamaica in 1954. This was followed in 1959 by one in Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe ); its layout
3465-578: The company to be "promotional department stores," with expanded product lines and other amenities not typically found at namesake Woolworth stores. Many locations contained Red Grille restaurants, a cafeteria -style outlet, and the food areas sold popcorn , real milkshakes , and other food. A number of Woolco stores were opened in the United Kingdom during the same period, one of which in Bournemouth – opened on 29 October 1968 –
3542-533: The company. 2008–2011 The 2007–2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession reduced availability of credit and consumer spending. On 19 November 2008, The Times reported that the Woolworths' retail business was a target for restructuring specialist Hilco UK , who would buy the retail arm for a nominal £1; this was confirmed the same day. The deal would have left Woolworths Group with its profitable distribution and publishing businesses and
3619-465: The early 21st century; specialist music chains such as Our Price collapsed. The major supermarket chains expanded into many of Woolworths' product areas, and the fast-expanding Wilkinson challenged it directly on the high street. Woolworths did not generally follow the trend started in the 1980s of opening stores at out-of-town relocations. One of its few out-of-town stores opened at Dudley 's Merry Hill Shopping Centre in 1989, but this closed within
3696-470: The fact that the majority of the managers who followed the decision did so out of loyalty to Woolworth, and that moving such a valuable resource already established in the United States to what was a financially unproven "Little Infant" in the UK would have a detrimental effect upon the "Bread and Butter" of the Company. To me it seems that these return sheets are in danger of being misunderstood and that it
3773-488: The few options available for purchasing food in some communities. Dollar Tree has disputed this claim; it claimed that in a number of cases it created food options in food deserts. In 2023, Dollar Tree reportedly stopped selling eggs when the price of eggs increased. In line with these allegations, a number of U.S. states have passed restrictions on where new dollar stores can be opened. According to IBISWorld , dollar stores have grown 43 percent since 1998 and have become
3850-453: The first store was 25 - 25A Church Street and 8 Williamson Street in the centre of Liverpool (the street addresses of the different entrances). It opened on 5 November 1909 with a performance by a full orchestra, circus acts and fireworks. As a means of adherence to American trading tradition, only viewing of items was allowed on the first day of the shop's opening. This included guests being given complementary tea while being entertained by
3927-554: The forerunner of Kingfisher plc . Woolworths Group plc was formed by the demerger of Kingfisher's general merchandise business, and began trading as a listed company on the London Stock Exchange on 28 August 2003, using the symbol WLW. In October 1984, the Woolworths stores in the Republic of Ireland were closed. In August 1996, market research was undertaken by Woolworths investigating opportunities to re-enter
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#17327725358484004-584: The idea for the creation of British stores, Frank Woolworth had offered invitations to store managers in the United States to open up stores in the UK and had only received offers to take positions at the time of his illness in March 1909 from Fred Woolworth of the Sixth Avenue and Samuel Balfour of the 14th Street stores in New York City. After these initial offers, Byron Miller, a superintendent in
4081-666: The lack of staff members throughout the war with several staff members being promoted to managerial positions. Stores in the United States, which were then stocking ranges also present in British stores, were dependent upon European manufacturers which had adopted newer production methods than their American counterparts. After the First World War, the company continued to expand with the opening of further branches. By 1923 there were 130 branches, and William Lawrence Stephenson (1880–1963) became managing director. He implemented
4158-553: The major department stores nearby. In 1987, for example, Woolworths left its five-floor branch on Briggate in Leeds (now occupied by House of Fraser ), which it had occupied since 1913, and kept only its smaller single-level branch in the Merrion Centre . This was in an area of the city centre which had less pedestrian traffic, of shoppers who were generally on a lower budget. Woolworths did have several smaller outlets during
4235-452: The market, and there are now "$ 8 shops" (US$ 1.02) and even "$ 2 shops" (US$ 0.26) competing at lower prices, especially in poorer communities. Low prices are helped by Hong Kong's lack of a sales tax and its access to the mainland. In Taiwan , fixed price stores can be found in many locations, including night markets, regular shopping streets, regular market stalls, and department stores. Two typical price points are NT$ 39 and NT$ 49. Given that
4312-559: The mid-1970s. Some stores were converted from regular Woolworth stores, including the location at Westland Mall in West Burlington, Iowa . The company experimented with both Woolco and a more downscale merchandising unit called Worth Mart in the mid-1960s. Woolco was the eventual winner with customers, and the Worth Mart stores were folded into Woolco's store base by the 1970s. At the outset, Woolco stores were considered by
4389-474: The new business adventure following a dream, or due to his dissatisfaction with the current condition of the American branch. Peck also asked those who were willing to volunteer to reconsider their decision, claiming that those who had volunteered were unaware of the uncertainty and risks involved and that some were only tentatively willing to engage in Woolworth's new endeavour: His concerns mainly centred on
4466-449: The only grocery store–like businesses available in some areas. Some items are offered at a considerable discount over other retailers, whereas others are at the same price point. There are two ways variety stores make a profit: Variety stores with single price points buy products to fit those price points (while making a profit) that are: Not all variety stores are "single price-point" stores, even if their names imply it. For example, in
4543-484: The onset of the First World War , F.W. Woolworth & Co. had 40 stores in Great Britain and Ireland located in most major cities - from which a total of 57 staff including store managers had enlisted; the majority of whom did not return after the end of the war in 1918. Despite American staff again offering their services to the Woolworths branches in Britain, remaining staff increased their efforts to cope with
4620-541: The prevailing thought was an entire store could not maintain itself with all low-priced goods, but with Woolworth's success, many others followed their lead. Well-known dime store companies included: Of these, only Ben Franklin continues to exist in this form, while Kresge and Walton's became mega-retailers Kmart and Walmart , respectively. Beginning around the 1960s, others tried the larger " discount store " format, such as TG&Y Family Centers, W. T. Grant , and Woolworth's Woolco stores. With suburbanization in
4697-516: The province of Quebec where they were named Café Rouge or Moisson d'Or. Variety store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop , or dollar store ) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel , auto parts , dry goods , toys , hardware , furniture , and a selection of groceries . It usually sells them at discounted prices, sometimes at one or several fixed price points, such as one dollar, or historically, five and ten cents. Variety stores, as
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#17327725358484774-554: The retail environment in Taiwan is already highly competitive, it is not unusual to see such stores fail. In India, US Dollar Store , founded in 2003, is a pioneer of single price stores. The merchandise for pilot stores was sent from America. As sales grew over the years with more than 200 operational stores in India, the merchandise is now imported from China, Indonesia, Thailand, Spain, Portugal, UK and various other countries as well as
4851-504: The shops' frontages. More modern counterparts include B&M , Boyes , Home Bargains , OneBeyond , Poundland and Poundstretcher . Variety stores in Guatemala include Dollar City. In Argentina, variety stores are called todo por dos pesos (everything for 2 pesos). Brazilians sometimes use the expression um e noventa e nove ( R$ 1,99) to refer to cheap, low quality things or even people. In Chile , they are called todo
4928-601: The six months to 2 August. At the same time, Johnson outlined a possible turnaround plan to sell 120 stores, axe a quarter of its products, reduce web operations and cut jobs. At that time, the retailer's largest shareholder was Iranian property developer Ardeshir Naghshineh, with a 10.2% stake. A consortium led by Icelandic investor Baugur , called Unity owned a 10% stake in Woolworths. In October 2008 Sir Alan Sugar , founder of electronics firm Amstrad , increased his stake in Woolworths to around 4%. Theo Paphitis , owner of stationery retailer Ryman , also stated his interest in
5005-472: The stake in 2 Entertain, and also avoided taking on Woolworths' debt and pension liabilities. On 12 August 2008, Woolworths Group announced the appointment of Steve Johnson, former chief executive officer of Focus DIY , to the post of chief executive. He replaced Trevor Bish-Jones, who had left in June. Woolworths scrapped its interim dividend in September 2008, after it announced a pre-tax loss of £99.7m for
5082-400: The state) can be sold in the United States regardless of their sell-by date, but in the United Kingdom it is illegal to sell goods after their "Use by" date. Although some people may link variety stores with low-income areas, this is not always true. For example, Atherton , California has a variety store within its city limits, even though it has a median household income of nearly $ 185,000
5159-582: The success in Michigan and western New York of so-called nickel stores , where everything cost five cents (the U.S. five cent coin is called a " nickel "). On February 22, 1879, Woolworth opened his Great Five Cent Store in Utica , New York, and it was his later success and expansion of that format as the F. W. Woolworth Company that would create the American institution of the "five and dime". There were many names for this type of store: Before Woolworth,
5236-606: The time that ownership shifted to the UK, there were about 1,000 branches. Woolworths tried the large out-of-town store or hypermarket format in the 1960s with the Woolco stores. While some of these stores were closed, the majority were sold to the Dee Corporation in the early 1980s and reopened as Gateway hypermarkets, later being taken over by Asda . One of Woolworths' flagship stores, on Briggate in Leeds , suffered
5313-616: Was a British high-street retail chain. At its height, it operated as Woolworths Group PLC, which included other companies such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK , and book and resource distributor Bertram Books . The Woolworths store chain was originally a division of the American F. W. Woolworth Company until its sale in the early 1980s, it had more than 800 stores in the UK prior to closure. Woolworths sold many goods and had its own Ladybird children's clothing range, WorthIt! value range and Chad Valley toys. They were also well known for selling pick 'n' mix sweets. It
5390-554: Was an off-price clothing retailer owned by F.W. Woolworth. Plans for the chain were first made public via a press release in July 1979, which stated the chain would open its first locations in the Oklahoma City and Dallas metro markets, in which there would be three and five locations in each area respectively. All eight of these prototype J. Brannam locations opened on October 24, 1979. Rapid expansion began and by its peak in 1982
5467-665: Was based on that of a store in Guildford . Woolworth also operated stores in Barbados , Trinidad and Tobago and the West Indies . On 22 May 1958, the 1000th branch (known as "Portslade" to distinguish it from the existing Hove branch) opened in Boundary Road, Hove. The peak of 1,141 branches was reached in the late 1960s. From then until the US parent sold out in 1982, a number of branches were closed and sold, and at
5544-498: Was in 1970 the largest store on one floor in Britain, with an area of 114,000 square feet and parking space for 1,250 cars. In November 1971, four new stores were opened simultaneously across Canada (including at Marlborough Mall ) bringing the total in that country to 47. The typical Woolco store was well over 100,000 square feet (9,300 m), which was quite large for a discount store of that era. Many of its departments (e.g., shoes and jewelry) were leased to third-party operators,
5621-442: Was officially dissolved on 13 October 2015. The collapse of Woolworths was a symbol of the credit crunch and financial turmoil in the United Kingdom at the end of 2008. In February 2009, Shop Direct Group (later known as The Very Group) purchased the Woolworths trademark and the internet address Woolworths.co.uk, which continued as a retail website until its closure in June 2015. In July 2021, Woolworth Deutschland acquired
5698-655: Was sold to McCrory (who maintained the brand) in 1972, McCrory itself went bankrupt in 1992 and all their brands disappeared in 2002. Starting in the late 1990s, dollar stores expanded enough to gain the attention of the national press. They were popular not only their value but because freestanding smaller stores were located in small towns, downtowns, and across the cities and suburbs, they were often more convenient than mall stores. They continued to grow and by 2019, for example, Dollar Tree had higher annual sales than Macy's . Dollar and variety store revenue reached $ 77 billion in 2018. As of 2018, main dollar store chains in
5775-711: Was sometimes referred to as Woolies by the UK media, the general public, and occasionally in its own television adverts. The British company also owned and ran divisions in the Republic of Ireland until 1984 and Cyprus until 2003. On 26 November 2008, trading of shares in Woolworths Group was suspended, and its Woolworths and Entertainment UK subsidiaries entered administration . Deloitte closed all 807 Woolworths stores between 27 December 2008 and 6 January 2009, resulting in 27,000 job losses. Woolworths Group plc entered administration on 27 January 2009, and it
5852-498: Was unclear how much of Woolworths' debt would be paid. In the last few days of trading discounts of up to 90% were offered, and a number of stores sold all of their stock, many selling all of their fixtures and fittings too. The stores were closed in phases, and the final two closing days were moved back a day to try to sell more of the remaining stock and to ease logistics of closing. The former chief executive of Kingfisher, Woolworths' former parent company, and Ardeshir Naghshineh,
5929-609: Was widely publicised, National Lottery operator Camelot immediately suspended Woolworths from selling their lottery tickets and scratch cards, as well as preventing claimants from redeeming prizes at the stores. On 5 December 2008, Woolworths recorded their greatest single day takings of £27 million, and axed 450 head office and support staff jobs. A closing-down sale started on 11 December. On 17 December 2008, administrators announced that all 807 Woolworths stores would close by 5 January 2009 (later changed to 6 January), with 27,000 job losses. Deloitte's Neville Kahn also said that it
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