Wilko

I miss Blockbusters, nothing like going in there on a Friday night and choosing a film for the weekend along with some popcorn and a bottle of wine.
I really do think less is more sometimes, I used to find it a much bigger treat taking a video or DVD home to watch than streaming it from countless other choices.
 
Auntie's is a big miss [and if you don't give it a miss you only have yourself to blame] . Locally I worked for a short time in the best boutique group with the most fashionable clothes . All my wages was spent on buying them . Marcus Price is an iconic Newcastle store sadly gone, 3 branches and infamous because Bob Dylan visited and bought clothing for his gig .
 
For purely personal nostalgic reasons I would love to see the Roxy clothes shop in Manchester open again. It was where I spent all of my Saturday afternoons from’79-84. Oh …and the Underground market next to it too.
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John Menzies was a brilliant shop, and WHSmith was a lot better once than it is today.

It was brilliant going into John Menzies and buying a BBC Video with three episodes of something for £9.99.
 
I remember Woolworths from my childhood in Worcester, Massachusetts. F.W. Woolworth was credited with being a marketing genius (sorry Aunty Wainwright). He carried a good selection of just about everything you would need to set up housekeeping. He didn't cater to the Cuisinart crowd, nor to the dollar store crowd, but had a good selection of good quality serviceable merchandise. I don't know what caused its' demise, but Woolworths went out of business in the US first. Huh? They were closing stores overseas when an employee from a German store recognized its value, bought the remnants of the chain, and began pressing its numbers back up. If I remember right, it was down to about 70 stores when he started and was over 200 in 2019. In 2019, I visited a Woolworths store in Verden Germany (pronounced Fairden). It even smelled like the Woolworths I remember from my childhood. The luncheon counter no longer exists, no tobacco products, the pet department no longer stocked rodents, reptiles, goldfish or poultry, instead now only offers pet food and kitty litter. They have kept pace with technology and offer universal TV remotes as well as cell phone and computer accessories. It was a lovely trip down memory lane.

This year (2023), in June, I visited their newest store in Northern Germany. Sadly, they had packed too much store into too small of a space. The store felt cluttered and visually confusing. Even though there weren't many customers, it felt overcrowded. I didn't stay even long enough to look for suntan oil.

Fortunately, Woolworths withstood COVID. The question is whether it can withstand the greed driven impetus of online marketing.

I hope for the best for them! I also hope it makes its way through the tunnel!
 
In the UK Woolworths was known best for Pick and Mix sweets and unlike Arkwright who told Cyril to put the sweets in his pocket you didn't have to barter for the bag it was always free.
 
captain clutterbuck said:
In the UK Woolworths was known best for Pick and Mix sweets and unlike Arkwright who told Cyril to put the sweets in his pocket you didn't have to barter for the bag it was always free.
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I think the problem with Woolworths (and many of the other shops to have shut down) are they tried to be a 'jack of all trades' but were master of none. Woolworths sold pick and mix like you said, but cd's, hifi equipment, gardening equipment, books to name but a few. I loved Woolworths but I think it did have a bit of an identity crisis perhaps a bit like BHS and even Debenhams which have also fallen by the wayside.
 
I think it was the Pound Stores that killed Woolworths. They were selling a similar range at cheaper prices.
 
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