No more Pick 'N' Mix ~ Woolies have gone under :(

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jo
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I'm lead to believe that woollies have 30,000 staff, so that is going to a huge jump in unemployment. Their wages have bee ring fenced for this months pay day.

It's becoming clearer by the day how bad this recession is going to be, and that's VERY bad indeed. The last paragraph in the Telegraph report should send a shiver down the spin of all retailers

The collapse of Woolworths could spark further discounting as administrators try to clear stock in the run up to Christmas - hitting the profitability of other retailers.
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A purely selfish thought, there will be lot's of bargains if they close. The trouble is they sell nothing I want, but that has been the cause of their downfall I guess.
 
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Woolies have always been good for buying little bits for people at Christmas, and the sales in the new year. Woolies was always the shop I looked forward to shopping in the most, when it came to Christmas time.

If anyone here works for Woolies, I am truly sorry for you. You deserve big hugs and good luck for the future. For what it's worth someone on the news tonight made a comment about Woolies staff having no trouble finding new jobs, as other stores will snap you up. They know you're hard working staff. So that has to be something good for you all.
 
The Wonder of Woolies for me was that they lasted so long. For the life of me I couldn't see where they fitted into the scheme of things, or who were their customer base. They have been in trouble for years, with poor stock control (at management level) being mainly to blame.

Woolworths used to be part of the Kingfisher group, along with B&Q and their saving grace was always that their property portfollio (the shops) was worth more than the actual business.

Looks as if even that wasn't enough to save them in the current financial climate.

The big MFI store in Glasgow has been having a closing down sale for quite a while now, so I was surprised that they were only now announcing the company were in administration, I thought that had happened ages ago.
 
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What happened with MFI was that the trading company went into administration. The best 100 stores (of a total of c180) were bought out by two directors into a new company. The 80 stores no bought were placed in administration. MFI have tried to cajole their landlords into some rent free periods but it appears this hasnt worked.
 
i cant understand woolies going under as every time i go in they are always busy whatever store i go into but it does explain why they are handing out so many discount vouchers
 
Its quite sad - Woolies has been around forever. We've got one on our high street, my daughter loves going there and getting some pick and mix and its great for picking up little treats (they do a lot of small cheap toys and craft packs). Gonna miss it.
 
Shame that, Woolies is kind of a British institution, and always useful if you needed the odd little thing. My only experiences of MFI have been universally crap, so it's no surprise to me that they have gone under. The store here in Crewe very rarely has more than about four customers in it. I do feel sorry for the thousands of people who have very prorobably lost their jobs today, through no fault of their own at the worst possible time of year.
 
Joe T said:
Ive been watchin the Woolies and MFI sagas with interest as they both owe some of my clients money. I hadnt seen that exclusive in the Telegraph tonight *** - thanks!
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Hey Joe I actually know where the Chief Ex. Lives :D
He is one of my customers ......................Seriously :thumbs:
For a small LARGE fee...............Well You know the rest ;)
 
typical, the kids have some woolies vouchers from someone, best get in there quick before they whitewash teh windows up then. Would anyone buy woolies? its not exactly clear what the position is in the market is it?
 
matty said:
typical, the kids have some woolies vouchers from someone, best get in there quick before they whitewash teh windows up then. Would anyone buy woolies? its not exactly clear what the position is in the market is it?
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The whole thing was for sale for a nominal fee of £1, if you were willing to take on around £300million in debt and £150million in pension obligations
 
In MFI years ago you used to be able to buy stuff off shelves and get your furniture there and then and take it home. Then they changed it to no stuff on shelves and home delivery only. Overnight our MFI turned in to a ghost town and I told them that one day it would be their undoing.
 
MFI should have followed the IKEA model - good quality, pile it high, sell it cheap.

Ikea stuff, love it or loathe it is actually pretty sturdy (and you always seem to get enough bits!)

I can't see the point of Woolworths - haven't set foot in one for about 15 years.
 
Woolies have lost their way over the last few decade, but I'm sure they will have a place in the heart of most people who are over say 45.

Got my first LP record from Woolies and a one time they did sell lots of good stuff. The branch in our town went downhill when the moved from the long held shop on the high street to a new location in the shopping arcade.

The shop is disorganized and looks like an over priced Poundland.


The one thing that must be sorted out first in the current situation is the pension fund, I get the impression that many of it's staff have been with the company for years, and they should not lose out on pensions.
 
As someone has already said Woolies has no identity, no niche anymore. Alot of other stores are selling what they sell and are selling it better. I'm not just talking about price but often customer service too. Reading one news article on the web a reported descibed their local Woolies as an industrial sized jumble sale!!

Some suppliers to Woolies stopped providing goods without cash payment so in the last few months Woolies have been borrowing large amounts to stay afloat, but sales have dropped (credit crunch!!) and thus they have not had the funds to pay back the loaned cash.
 
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