Swindon’s former Woolworths store – past, present and an uncertain future

Graham Soult

Retail consultant, writer, blogger; helping retailers via CannyInsights.com and CannySites.com. Say hello on Twitter at @soult!

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11 Responses

  1. Lee Sartin says:

    Going back to previous comments from last year Graham, I forgot to mention that the other half of the old woolies unit in Swindon is now home to a new Peacocks store. From the few Peacocks stores that were saved, the Swindon branch was relocated from The Parade to Regent Street where it now stands today with a nice new shop fit. I think in terms of floor space its about the same but I guess they have negotiated better terms on their lease for a better location in the town centre. Here are some pictures:

    http://www.demotix.com/news/1834057/swindon-peacocks-opens-new-store-whilst-hmv-closes-down#media-1834025

  2. Lee Sartin says:

    Thanks, not a problem. I can keep coming back to look at this site now i’ve found it!

    I forgot to mention, it looks like Poundworld and Discount UK will be offering 2 stores under 1 roof in Swindon. Not sure if this has been done elsewhere, but I did think there would be a lot of floor space to use up :)

    Heres a local news link if you’re interested. Thanks again.

    http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/9544244.Now_we_can_be_quids_in_____again/?ref=mmsp

  3. Graham Soult says:

    And I forgot to say thanks for your updates, Lee! I’ll have to go and take another look next time I’m in Swindon :)

  4. Lee Sartin says:

    I will have a look at the blogs. Thant sounds like good news then! The store left such a large void at that end of Regent Street so it will be a welcome site to see something there. The fact that the store will be offering products similar to Woolworths is great as well.

  5. Lee Sartin says:

    Hi, I realise these posts are relatively old in terms of how fast the retail world moves on, but from living in Swindon myself, there seems to be an update on the former Woolworths store on Regent Street. Poundworld (Discount UK), however similar to the other discount retailers on the high street, is opening in the former Woolworths store on Friday 24th Feb.

    Does Swindon need another ‘pound shop’ following the likes of 99p stores and poundland in the stown centre?…. Maybe not, but there must be a market for this type of store in Swindon at this present time – they definitely have a lot of floor space to play with! At least its another empty shop unit filled, although we are starting to lose the higher quality store throughout many high streets.

    • Graham Soult says:

      Discount UK is pretty smart – if you search through my old blogs you’ll see that the ex-Woolworths up here in Newcastle and Middlesbrough are now Discount UK as well, and seem to be doing OK!

  6. Steve Hack says:

    I agree about the town centre being underwhelming. There’s all the usual suspects to choose from but it’s not a very inspiring place to shop!

    I also noticed that the Sainsburys in the Brunel Plaza still had signage from at least 20 years ago, another example of where certain stores are forgotten when a rebranding exercise takes place.

  7. Helen Catterall says:

    The sudden exit of Woolworths from our high streets left a big hole, but thankfully across the country other retailers have been stepping in to take advantage of prime locations, probably with decent levels of rent.

  8. Swindon will continue to be chipped away at by other locations that have the capacity to attract both consumers and retailers. Maybe it will have to reinvent itself as a smaller, convenience location that has shops and services for the day to day.

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