Discount UK (former Woolworths), Middlesbrough (4 May 2011)

Down on Teesside last week, I’d only really planned to have a quick look around Middlesbrough while waiting for my connecting bus to Redcar. However, I was startled to notice that the ex-Woolies (and ex-Waremart) unit in the town’s Hillstreet shopping centre had acquired a new occupant – a variety store called Discount UK – which has apparently been open since 23 April.

Regular readers will recall that when I first visited Middlesbrough in September 2009, the large ex-Woolworths site (store #1200) was occupied, on a short-term lease, by a discount variety retailer, Waremart.

The same unit in use as Waremart (17 Sep 2009)

However, by January 2010 Waremart had gone, with the unit remaining empty throughout last year.

Former Woolworths and Waremart, Middlesbrough (28 Jun 2010)

I’d never come across Discount UK before seeing it in Middlesbrough, but it seems that it’s a new multi-price fascia from Poundworld – a way, self-evidently, of allowing the single-price retailer to sell products costing more than £1, and to therefore increase the average basket size. To date, Poundworld has acquired several ex-Woolies locations for its eponymous stores, including the West Ealing branch that I visited back in November.

Poundworld store, West Ealing (24 Nov 2010)

There’s no information on store locations on Discount UK’s website holding page, but from what I can gather there are also stores in Leeds and Stevenage, with another dozen planned for 2011. The Stevenage store, opened in January this year, is apparently housed in premises that had been empty since Littlewoods left in 2005.

Screenshot of DiscountUK website (8 May 2011)

Retail Week’s article about Discount UK quotes the chain’s boss describing it as an “up-to-date Woolies, with a vibrant look and more choice and value”, and based on my visit to the Middlesbrough store it’s hard to argue with that assessment. Where Waremart was essentially camping out in a space that still looked and felt like a Woolworths, Discount UK has completely transformed it, the palette of black, white and pink giving the store a much smarter and more upmarket feel than its value competitors, such as B&M Bargains or Family Bargains (99p Stores’ own take on the multi-price format), or indeed Poundworld’s eponymous stores.

Discount UK flyer (from Hillstreet website)

Discount UK seems like a strong addition to the Primark-anchored retail offer at Hillstreet, and was certainly busy with shoppers when I visited last Wednesday morning. It’s also a great solution to the question of what to do with Middlesbrough’s old Woolworths, given that virtually all the other takers of large ex-Woolies sites – such as Peacocks, New Look, TK Maxx, TJ Hughes, Poundland, Next and Wilkinson – were represented in the town already.

Back of Hillstreet - minus its Woolies sign (4 May 2011)

...and with the sign still in place six months ago (16 Nov 2010)

One positive side-effect of the chain’s arrival is that the Woolworths sign at the rear of the store – present throughout Waremart’s stay – has finally been taken down, reinforcing the sense that Discount UK has invested in Middlesbrough for the long term.

I hope the store does well, and encourages the chain to consider further North East sites. In Discount UK, it could be that we’ve finally found the perfect candidate for the still-vacant ex-Woolies in Newcastle city centre: a business whose presence would greatly improve the appearance of that part of Clayton Street, while still being a great fit with – and footfall driver for – the street’s value credentials.

If it comes off, don’t forget that you heard it here first…

Former Woolworths (now WHSmith), Pinner, 1 May 2011. Photograph by Bryan Roberts

Many thanks to Bryan Roberts from Kantar Retail iQ, who let me know via Twitter that the old Woolworths in Pinner, north west London, has recently reopened as a branch of WHSmith.

Regular readers may recall that I visited Pinner nearly a year ago, when the old Woolies premises in Bridge Street were then occupied by Poundstar. Just as Poundstar made do with the existing Woolworths shopfront, it looks like WHSmith has similarly done little more – at least on the outside – than add its own signage to the current fascia.

Former Woolworths in Pinner, as Poundstar (14 May 2010)

With WHSmith’s opening, Pinner’s joins the growing number of ex-Woolies locations that are already on to their second occupant since the collapse of Woolworths in 2008. In some places – such as Warrington – this is simply the result of the original post-Woolies occupant going out of business, and another retailer coming in to fill the void.

Elsewhere, however, there are some interesting examples of discount retailers in ex-Woolies premises, more than likely on short-term leases, being replaced by (relatively) more upmarket or better-known names. Waitrose taking over the Alworths site in Amersham is an obvious example, as is Denmark Hill’s 99p Stores being replaced by Peacocks.

Is it just coincidence or local circumstances? An illustration of certain retailers’ relative success or evolving property requirements? Or perhaps a sign of confidence in the retail property market as big names target locations that they may have passed by a couple of years earlier? Whatever the reason, it’s fair to say that Pinner was reasonably quiet on the Friday morning when I visited last year, so hopefully WHSmith’s arrival provides a welcome boost to footfall in a retail centre that, arguably, was never the most obvious location for a pound shop.

One of Pinner’s charms is that it manages to combine a lovely historic centre with a reasonably strong retail and leisure offer. I knew next to nothing about the place before stepping off the train last year, but I was really impressed by the gorgeous High Street, lined with timber-framed buildings housing bars and independent shops.

High Street, Pinner (14 May 2010)

Tucked behind the High Street, there’s also an M&S Simply Food and a good-sized Sainsbury’s, both accessed via discreet archways and reasonably well integrated with the rest of the shopping centre.

Sainsbury's, Pinner (14 May 2010)

My general view is that places like Pinner benefit from having a healthy mix of big-name stores and interesting independents, allowing shoppers to meet most of their everyday needs while maintaining a retail centre that is distinctive and characterful.

Of course, not everyone subscribes to that view. Take those superstores away, and the romantic vision is that shoppers will revert to old-fashioned shopping habits, providing an automatic boost for the local butcher and greengrocer. Here in the North East, however, the example of Wallsend – a town that has been without its main supermarket for the last two years – reminds us that shoppers are just as capable of taking their business to the nearest Morrisons or Tesco down the road.

With this in mind, I was disappointed, but not surprised, to read that WHSmith’s arrival in Pinner has apparently provoked a “backlash” from local independent shopkeepers. Of course, local newspapers thrive on this kind of drama, and we shouldn’t believe everything we read in them. However, the “local indies object to big-name newcomer” story is wearily familiar, and often based on the flimsiest of premises.

Harrow Observer article about "WHSmith backlash"

The article in the Harrow Observer last month reported that “WHSmith is facing a backlash from independent traders in Pinner who fear the stationery giant will steal their customers”, and revealed that “a group of shops selling cards, stationery, books and printing services have written a joint letter to WHSmith bosses over their fears that independent shops like theirs will be undercut.”

On several counts this argument is bizarre. It ignores the fact that some of WHSmith’s ranges – such as stationery and newspapers – are items that Woolworths used to sell from that site without anyone seemingly complaining. Equally, anyone who’s recently been to a branch of Smith’s will recognise that its upmarket (or, some might say, overpriced) cards compete more with Paperchase or Clinton’s than with Card Factory or local independents.

What I find most depressing about this kind of article, however, is the apparent complacency and sense of blame among some indie retailers – the view that “we’ve been here forever, and how dare the big boys come in, undercut us, and nick our customers” – and the implication that everything revolves around price. What about celebrating independents’ potential to offer superlative customer service? Providing a friendly, personal touch and superb specialist knowledge that the big chains simply can’t match?

In the modern world of retailing, no retail business has – or should have – a God-given right to thrive. Success needs to be earnt. Unfortunately, alongside all the brilliant and innovative independent retailers out there, there are still too many that haven’t invested enough in brightening up dismal store interiors, in showcasing product effectively, or in offering more-than-perfunctory customer service. In short, these are shops that have coasted along, reliant on a relatively captive audience, and whose limitations are exposed when a big chain opens up down the road.

Instead of grumbling, Pinner’s indie retailers should therefore be seizing upon the opportunity afforded by WHSmith’s arrival.

Celebrate the fact that a major name has made an investment in your retail centre, bringing a vacated shop unit back into use.

Assuming local footfall increases, tap into this. Bring more customers into your own shop by offering the products that they want, wrapped up with a sense of theatre and top-notch customer service that makes people feel good and want to come back.

But, above all, don’t ask them at the till if they’d like to buy some cheap chocolate.

High Street, Inverness with former Woolworths store (1 May 2010)

One of the hazards of visiting so many places – and taking so many photos of shops – is that I end up with far more potential blog topics than I ever have time to write about.

Some shots that I’ve had gathering dust since the beginning of May are from when I holidayed in the Scottish Highlands. Old Woolworths – or, in fact, any shops at all – are hard to come by in the wilds of Sutherland, but I did manage to bring in a couple of Woolies visits on the way back home.

Former Woolworths, Inverness - prior to Poundland moving in (1 May 2010)

First stop was Inverness, where the large former Woolies store at 13-15 High Street (store #233) was still empty when I visited. As Woolworths, the store had traded from the site for more than 80 years, opening on 11 September 1926 and undergoing a ‘reskinning’ in 1964 to give it its current, ‘modern’ appearance.

c1960 postcard view, prior to reskinning

However, the news that Poundland would be moving into the ground floor of the five-storey property – opening a second Inverness store alongside its existing Eastgate shop – had been reported just the day before my visit. The new Poundland store is now trading, having opened last month.

North Berwick's characterful town centre (2 May 2010)

Almost at the other end of Scotland, the old Woolworths in the delightful seaside town of North Berwick, East Lothian (store #804) – which has been taken over by Poundstretcher – is a much more modest property.

Former Woolworths (now Poundstretcher), North Berwick (2 May 2010)

Despite Poundstretcher’s travails – blogged about back in August last year, and reflected in total pre-tax losses for its parent company, Instore, of more than £33m across the last four years – the retailer has picked up quite a few old Woolies stores, including, among others, sites in Camborne, Whitchurch, Hyde, Edinburgh, and several in Northern Ireland. These, along with the rest of the retailer’s estate, are adopting a revamped Poundstretcher fascia, following the abandonment of earlier plans to brand the entire chain as Instore.

These recent acquisitions have helped Poundstretcher to increase its store estate to about 320, still short of the peak of almost 340 that was reached in 2002, but an improvement on the 300 figure from early 2006. However, with Home Bargains and B&M Bargains expanding aggressively on one front (the latter now up to 197 stores, from just 10 in 2000), and single-price retailers Poundland and 99p Stores hammering away at another, it’s hard to know quite where Poundstretcher sits.

As the Retail Week Knowledge Bank sagely concludes, “the serious strategic dilemma facing [Instore's] management is that neither the Instore nor the Poundstretcher format is yet showing any obvious signs of making the required impact on enough consumers for the business to achieve sustainable long-term profitability despite all efforts.”

Iceland continues to pick up more Woolies stores - this one in Hexham was acquired in January

It looks like the pace of Woolworths stores finding new occupants may be picking up, with more than twenty new announcements since I last blogged on the issue – at this rate I won’t be able to keep up!

Once again, the list of incoming retailers is as eclectic as we have come to expect:

• Blairgowrie: The Original Factory Shop (still tbc, subject to building issues) – full story
• Bristol (Hartcliffe): What Stores Ltd (family-owned DIY and variety store – I can’t find a website, buy you can read people’s reviews of the Cardiff superstore here) – full story
• Cannock: Poundland – full story
• Christchurch: 99p Stores – full story
• Colchester: QD Stores (independent discount retailer in the east of England) – full story
• Elgin: Poundland – full story
• Hawick: Farmfoods – full story
• Kingston-upon-Thames: Clas Ohlson – full story
• Leigh: Tesco Express - full story
• Nottingham: Poundworld – full story
• Peterhead: Iceland – full story
• Reading: Clas Ohlson (tbc – planning permission applied for) - full story
• Rotherham: B&M Bargains – full story
• Rustington: The Original Factory Shop – full story
• Stourbridge: Home Bargains – full story
• Thurso: Ethel Austin^{[broken link removed]} – full story
• Uckfield: WHSmith – full story
• Waltham Cross: British Heart Foundation (tbc – planning application submitted) – full story^{[broken link removed]}
• Wick: Ethel Austin – full story
• Worksop: B&M Bargains (tbc) – full story
• Wymondham: The Co-operative Food – full story^{[broken link removed]}

Meanwhile, the old Woolies in Rye looks set to become the town’s new library. This is positive in the short term in so far as it brings an empty building back into use. In the longer term, I’m not sure whether the viability of town centres is best served by taking over prime retail units for non-retail functions…