Re: Woolworth's
 

How true that is Roy, there is a lot of red tape when it comes to markets and its still down to the charter

Re: Woolworth's
 

Things are starting to get out of hand read this link
its the preston branch of Woolies

Woolworths staff attacked by frenzied customers - Lancashire Evening Post

Re: Woolworth's
 

That is shocking behavoir, I know the discounts arnt all as we would expect them to be given the circumstances but still to turn to violence because you arnt getting the bargain you want is terrible.

Re: Woolworth's
 

It is mob mentality at its best. We all know there is a squeeze on everyones finances but this kind of behavior is a disgrace. I hope that some of those that were dealt with by the security staff ended up with the police. We have all had an argument with store staff but to spit on them with all the health issues that might carry is as low as anyone can get.

These poor people are going to be out of a job soon and there are not that many around for them to get a new one. Do people not realise that the assistants wages still have to be paid from any money that goes in the till?
The creditors will be paid but under the circumstances would all the staff get money they are owed. There is only a limited amount of money in the pot and staff wont be high on the list of those who will get some so its possible they will not be paid at all. Yet they still do their job only to be assaulted by those lower than scum.

Re: Woolworth's
 

Was walking past woolies today and there are signs on the doors saying that no physical and verbal abuse to the staff.

By the way accrington's closing date is 5.1.09

BBC NEWS | Business | Woolworths gives closure details

Re: Woolworth's
 

Woolworths on the next block up Dave.. your on about pricebusters which isnt there anymore, Now a B&M Bargains..

Re: Woolworth's
 

Called in Blackpools branch today and they are even selling fixtures and fittings now,
Still saying 60% off stuff but i didnt think any savings there at all.

Re: Woolworth's
 

Accy had pallets full of stock delivered today with no fixtures left to put it on and precious few staff wanting to do it anyway. My understanding is that the staff will get paid for this month as normal and the redundancy will be dealt with by the administrators and the DTI, will be capped and minimal. :(
Having had dealings with Deloitte myself I wouldn't expect any sense of urgency from them.
Once again my sympathies to the employees.
( Also know that Accy will lose 2 of it's card shops very shortly too, more empty units!)

Re: Woolworth's
 

Which card shops are going.................? or is it hush hush yet.?

Re: Woolworth's
 

The one on Broadway, is it Card Warehouse? ( currently in administration)And Birthdays, unit being taken over by Clintons, owned by same group so no real surprise but no consolation to staff being laid off!

Re: Woolworth's
 

According to Radio Lancs, Accrington Woolworth's will close this Saturday (27/12). Apparently it's one of the first to close.

Re: Woolworth's
 

According to the list on the bbc website that woolworths have given them

Aberdare 27 Dec 08
Aberdeen 27 Dec 08
Abergavenny 27 Dec 08
Abergele 2 Jan 09
Abertillery 2 Jan 09
Aberystwyth 27 Dec 08
Abingdon 5 Jan 09
Accrington 5 Jan 09

Acocks Green 30 Dec 08

Re: Woolworth's
 

Closing Date For All Stores


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-sto...5875-20990087/

Re: Woolworth's
 

Couldnt beleive how many stores were listed, I know the quantity had been published in numbers but seeing it as a list just showed how large the company really was

Re: Woolworth's
 

They have about 800 stores nationally, but when you think about it there is a Wollies in most medium to large towns

Re: Woolworth's
 

True, it was just seeing it as a list (that seemed to go on forever) and not just a number of stores (if you know what I mean lol)

I picked up a few bargains from woolies today though, not as mad as it had been but going round with a double pram and two youngsters made it a little more difficult lol

Things still arnt as cheap as I would expect them to be but im not complaining at getting a couple of bargains. The toy stock is very low now and to be honest I will be a bit lost for where to shop when it goes. Did shop in there quite a bit, mainly for toys and craft stuff for the kids so not sure where ill be shopping for these things from now on

Re: Woolworth's
 

crikey what did you buy? to get a bargain...we were in and it was just full of bits of nothing...they should do the decent thing and just close that shop just now..

Re: Woolworth's
 

Lytham store is already closed. St Anne's didnt have anything worth buying, shelves were almost empty. Very Sad

Re: Woolworth's
 

it is very sad but woolies as a company have no one to blame but themselves for the mess they got in..they cannot blame everyone else for it.

as for the rest..well zavvi is going gone, officers club is gone, some card company is going,
and for 2009....from what I have been told from a friend who's a business analyst in scotland - the next chain. are struggling to pay at least 70% of the leases on their shops are losing more money as the weeks go on and are now looking at maybe clsoing certain stores in the new year & one company part of the dixons group is in the mire big time...
certainley not good news at all...and it will only get worse..

my bro went into Blackburn woolies on christmas eve and bought a moving crying (bloody annoying) baby Anabelle thing for our Katie for £20, he said it had been reduced from £40

Re: Woolworth's
 

Its Peacocks now. Weatherspoons originally looked at the site but the council wouldnt allow them to press ahead with plans. The Woolies in Blackpool is quite a big one, it has a cafe aswell.

Re: Woolworth's
 

went into Blackburn woolies today.....nowt in!!

My daughter was chuffed though, she bought 3 posters for her bedroom, for under £4 the lot! :rolleyes:
Not bad really, to say they are 3 for £10 at HMV.

Re: Woolworth's
 

there cant be any pretty pink baby clothes left in nelson woolies :D my aunty bought them all!

Re: Woolworth's
 

other than Asda there is nowhere left in Accy now that sells chart cd's...unless Smiths does them?

Re: Woolworth's
 

I'm not surprised. You can get any cd you want on Play.com without leaving the house.

You don't pay postage on Play.com either.

Re: Woolworth's
 

...or HMV.com ;)

Re: Woolworth's
 

Smiths does sell chart CD`s and along with their DVD`s the prices are ridiculous...............anything like that i get online now, HMV, PLAY, ITUNES or more often than not AMAZON............:D

Re: Woolworth's
 

Such a crying shame its come to this isnt it. If Wilkinsons can make a do, then surely Woolies should have been able to. Can only be down to bad management really. They should have developed a greater on-line service i feel also.

Best Regards - Taggy

Re: Woolworth's
 

That is not the case, if roumours are to be beleived then wilkinsons is in a similar situation as woolies (although maybe not yet as extreme) but the staff are all said to be worrying about their jobs as their future isnt as secure as they thought ........

Re: Woolworth's
 

Theres always a queue at the tills when i go in there, never seen that place quiet yet!


Best Regards - Taggy

Re: Woolworth's
 

There was always a queue in woolies when i went in (used to pay at the entertainment desk to avoid it lol) Dont think that means much really, will see if I can find anything more solid to back it up other than word of mouth lol

Re: Woolworth's
 

Is Wilkinsons privately owned do you know, or part of a larger group?

Apparently people are already selling Woolies "souveniers" on ebay!! Madness! I suppose the time to really worry is if Tesco goes under, we would know the world was in trouble then!!

Best Regards - Taggy

Re: Woolworth's
 

Went into the Woolies in Harrogate on Boxing Day and they also had posters up selling all the fixtures and fittings including the microwave from the staff canteen, and the shop safe!!!!!!!

Wonder if the staff got paid double time for working a bank holiday???

Re: Woolworth's
 

I have no idea, but theres plenty of them located around the country

Re: Woolworth's
 

I'm pretty sure that won't be happening. ;) They have a stranglehold. Everyone seems to think they're really cheap for everything too so can't see how they'd go under.

I only have to walk an extra 10 minutes to get better quality, cheaper, veg/meat from my local shops rather than Tesco express. It's really worth it under student conditions as I have a bit more time on my hands compared with somebody who would rather just do their whole shop at the big Tesco.

Re: Woolworth's
 

Spot on Andrew, tesco are not cheap, we went in once, got our usual shop and it was much more expensive than asda, told the cashier to take a good look at the debit card because they wont see it again, food stores should sell food stuff, not car, diy, white goods etc etc, no wonder there is nothing but pound shops left!

Re: Woolworth's
 

loooks like adams is next

BBC NEWS | Business | Adams 'poised for administration'

Re: Woolworth's
 

There will be more yet, we should have had another thread about businesses going under, cos this just looks like a woolies thread, boots are closing 2 warehouses apparently in the rochdale area.

Re: Woolworth's
 

looks like farepak started all this off the other year, i still havent had any money back from them

Re: Woolworth's
 

I think next year will see many shops and the like close down.... the powers that be, have not us the full story ( with it being Christmas )
but will hit us in the early new year..... ( think I will make the most of this year what's left of it )

Re: Woolworth's
 

room for more £ shops :)

Re: Woolworth's
 

The one good thing ( if there is such a thing ) is that the knock on effect of all these retailers going bust is they will take out more far east sweatshops than British suppliers, especially the clothing retailers.

Re: Woolworth's
 

The Boots warehouses ( actually distribution centres) closures have been planned for at least a year to my knowledge, they have spent a fortune fully automating the big dc at Nottingham to handle all the distribution so it's not news to us. No doubt scaremongering tabloids will portray it as more though! Majority of staff have been offered employment elsewhere or a good redundancy package.

Re: Woolworth's
 

I was thinking that it still puts people on the dole at a very bad time, probably wouldnt have been thought about 12 months ago though Linds, does seem like the store staff will be ok though.

Re: Woolworth's
 

My God! There won't be any shops in Accy at this rate. :(

Re: Woolworth's
 

Think there will be a few more over the coming weeks.. absolutely tragic IMO...

Re: Woolworth's
 

Not sure about the one in Falkirk but will find out tomorrow when I take a trip up. Wonder how long it will be before all that we used to buy on the high street is the domain of supermarkets? Even the specialist shops cant hold out against the buying power of supermarkets. Soon there will be no personal touch and service in shops we will just be cash ladened cattle to be milked of our cash. :(

Re: Woolworth's
 

i've got a friend who's upgrading his business and needed his shop fixtures - so he's off to woolies to buy their shelving and apparently they've been more than keen to get rid of it.

i managed to pick up a bargain or two from there though normally i would never have bought from there. they were always a few quid mroe expensive in the gamin dept.

Re: Woolworth's
 

I just wonder how many of the the folks scavenging the shelves for bargins and complaining about prices spent a moment with the store staff to say how sorry they were to see the store closing and that they hoped that soon to be unemployed would soon find new jobs and wish them luck with their future propects ....from some of the comments in this thread I would say not many :rolleyes:

Re: Woolworth's
 

We wouldn't care any other time though would we so why would we care now? I think if I was one of them and people kept bringing it up whilst I was trying to be optimistic and still do my job, I'd rather I didn't get the sympathy vote just because my redundancy happened to be the most talked about because it was all over national news. If it wasn't then nobody would care less, at least nobody with the exception of family and friends.

I think they should try and view it as an opportunity, but then again I suppose jobs are scarce enough as it is, particularly in retail and lots of businesses are hanging by a thread so they aren't going to be rushing to hire anyone at the moment.

I've been made redundant before and it wasn't nice, but I've just got on with things and I'm sure many other people do the same. It might take a bit of time but people learn to adapt to cope with the rough times and eventually the sun shines through the clouds again. Let's just hope the government pulls us through all this mess and makes amends. I'm not getting my hopes up for that being any time soon though.

Re: Woolworth's
 

Blazey , suggest you are wasting your time at "Uni" think your time would be better spent learning how to be a kennel maid , that way you could enjoy your time with the other bitchs ;)

Re: Woolworth's
 

We wouldn't care any other time though would we so why would we care now?
Why, you mean because it's Xmas is the only reason we are caring right now? Some of us have concern and compassion for people's situations no matter what.

I think if I was one of them and people kept bringing it up whilst I was trying to be optimistic and still do my job, I'd rather I didn't get the sympathy vote just because my redundancy happened to be the most talked about because it was all over national news. If it wasn't then nobody would care less, at least nobody with the exception of family and friends.

Would think that these people appreciate the concern of others, even if there is nothing they can do about it. It shows a nice aspect of human nature.

I think they should try and view it as an opportunity, but then again I suppose jobs are scarce enough as it is, particularly in retail and lots of businesses are hanging by a thread so they aren't going to be rushing to hire anyone at the moment.

Doubt that people with families and mortgages to worry about will view it as an opportunity. Maybe for some in the long term it may turn out that way, but in the immediate future they will be wanting to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

I've been made redundant before and it wasn't nice,
Exactly

but I've just got on with things and I'm sure many other people do the same. It might take a bit of time but people learn to adapt to cope with the rough times and eventually the sun shines through the clouds again. Let's just hope the government pulls us through all this mess and makes amends. I'm not getting my hopes up for that being any time soon though.

What was this job, temporary? part-time? No it's not nice is it?

There is a difference in someone in your position being laid off than those with family, or older people with commitments

Someone your age, and with your apparent lack of worldliness is in no position to advise people how to get on with things, to learn how to adapt. We've been there got the tee shirts and worn em out.

One thing I will admit you are good at blazey.

Trying to teach your grandmother to suck eggs!

Re: Woolworth's
 

well after reading that, i owe you n apology Blazey, SORRY. i actually thought you were Human.

Re: Woolworth's
 

This must be the quote of the year from blazey "I suppose jobs are scarce as it is":confused: no doubt you will find that out for yourself when you descend from that ivory tower you call university and join the real world, but I actually think cashy's right, you certainly ain't studying humanities blazey, and you wonder why people on here keep jumping on your case, seems your 19 bordering on 3, but that would be insulting 3 year olds:mad:

Re: Woolworth's
 

There is no need to attack blazey; she cant help being young, inexperienced, naive and idealistic, she will learn with time and experience.

Re: Woolworth's
 

oh well that makes everything hunky dory then.:rolleyes: i don't think so.

Re: Woolworth's
 

....and by listening to the Opinions of others!!


Best Regards - Taggy

Re: Woolworth's
 

That's confused me :confused:. Have you not gone from school to college to university ? If you were made redundant then presumably it was some sort of saturday job which is not quite the same as the redundancies we are talking about here.

Re: Woolworth's
 

Ive been made redundant 3 times, luckily though this was when I was still living at my parents, and yes had debts etc which still needed paying but at least I wasnt relying on this income keeping a roof over my head or a family fed. Even then I found it very stressful and upsetting and also worrying as to how long I would be out of work for etc.

I really do feel for the staff and hope that they can all get themselves sorted out quickly with new jobs etc (although given the current rate of unemployment I know it will be a very difficult time for them all)

Re: Woolworth's
 

I like a few on here have been found surplass to requirements on a few occasions and hated it. Though I have picked up other work there is always that niggling thought that it will happen again as its already started at my place. There is little work about and as there are more bodies per job it is now an employers market again. It could have been a Saturday job evening job part time or full time. When you lose your job it takes a lump out of you and a bit of independence and self relience and belief disappears.

There is no such thing as a job for life anymore as such. As we try to improve our chances it is possible to be over qualified, over the hill, over enthusiastic etc etc etc. In the current climate it will be down to luck if you find the job you want, but my belief is that "if a job puts coin in the pocket or purse then its better than none."

I will take any job that puts coin in my pocket regardles of the wage. Ok there will be more minimum wage jobs now but even that helps give some self respect. If anyone wants a job they will find one, may not be what they want but once in a job it can be easier to find another one. So I hope that those that are left jobless at Woolies will find something. It will not be easy and the job centre/benefit agency are as useful as they want to be depending on what side of bed they get out of.

Re: Woolworth's
 

Unfortunatley those of us with that sort of self respect end up worse off financially than actually being on benefits. Strange world we live in :mad:

Re: Woolworth's
 

Have to agree with that Dave. I know people who wont work because benefits are worth more to them. Even the addition of working tax credits etc on top of a wage wont make them get a job. There is nothing worse than putting in a shift and finding out others are better off for doing nothing. An overhaul of the system is needed ie back to scratch and redo it learning lessons from what has gone. That would be another thread tho.

Re: Woolworth's
 

In the 60s and early 70s there was legislation which was called 'the wage stop'.
This restricted National Assistance payments to what wages were locally.
Here is a link to more detail
Poor Parents: Social Policy and the ... - Google Book Search
I was never called on to administer it but recall the comments of work colleagues who did.
The weekly benefit was restricted to match the wage of a council labourer.
It mainly affected large families where the additions for several children caused the assistance rate to get quite large.

The effect was to put those children in poverty conditions and that is why it was abolished.

Re: Woolworth's
 

Yes but did you have a mortgage and children to support.... I really don't think some members of the younger generation could cope....

A lot think food comes in little boxes to nuke, and would not know how to start from scratch..... ( no their fault mind ) they have not been shown how to:

Maybe school should go back to the old ways... and teach kids how to make do and mend:

Re: Woolworth's
 

In a throw away society make do and mend is an anathemar and is treated with destain. Ok I admit I use nukable grub as I stay on my own though I am an able cook. I can sew as well and do find uses for bits and bats. Unfortunately for some who have been waited on hand and foot since they were squeezed into the world reality will hit em like a double decker bus. I am not saying all are like that but a good percetage will be.

Parents dont seem to have the time or want to spend what time they have preparing their cherished offspring for the big bad world. To me that is sad as some of the best time had with kids is when doing things together. Hell when my daughter is over and curry for tea is mentioned its a fight as to who is going to make it.,whether from scratch or if running late the jar. She is twelve and quite proud of the fact she is a better cook than her gran and all she did to start with was watch me.

Because of what is happening ther is now a chance that what I went through as a teen like many others in the 80's is going to resurface. It was bad enough then but there is a chance that though shorter this recession will be deeper and more painful. Just look at the stores that are shutting apart from Woolies and the numbers heading for the dark box of unemployment. Some will with luck find something else but many will struggle and suffer because of it. This problem will rip families apart at all levels and increase stress. Those still in work will fear that they might be next and moral will fall with the end result that products and services suffer because of it.

Re: Woolworth's
 

was passing woolys in dingletown this morning, 75% was empty just shelving, big sign on window saying 4 days to go.

Re: Woolworth's
 

I passed the one in Accrington today and it said 5 days to go, I dont know what was on the shelves, as I didnt go in but it looked packed.

I also noticed that Birthdays in the Arndale has closed down and Card Factory on Broadway is practically empty and has Closing Down signs in the window.

Re: Woolworth's
 

Thats probably because of the card shop opposite Birthdays, cheaper!

Re: Woolworth's
 

That may be so but sadly the choice has narrowed again. At this rate we will be doing our cards with the comp and printer. :(

Re: Woolworth's
 

You mean you don't already do that SPUGGIE:D

Re: Woolworth's
 

Its sure going to look very depressing on Broadway from Monday onwards.


Best Regards - Taggy

Re: Woolworth's
 

Errmm Broadway is already depressing isn`t it............but i know what you mean.....the whole of Accy is starting to look that way.....:(

Re: Woolworth's
 

Yep...Just looks really bad when a large store right in the centre of a small town shuts down. Was in Llandudno a few days ago and their's has already closed...all signs removed and paper up at the windows...looked really sad, and i'm afraid, a sign of things to come.

Best Regards - Taggy