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From blogging to judging – celebrating retail with Stockton’s Town Centre Business Awards

Graham Soult July 31, 2011 Customer Service, Personal 1 Comment

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Stockton Town Centre Business Awards judges, including me on the left

Stockton Town Centre Business Awards judges, including me on the left

While I was on my holidays, I was pleased to see both the Northern Echo and Teesside’s Evening Gazette covering the opening of entries for … Continue Reading

Back to Billingham

Graham Soult November 17, 2010 Property, Retail History, Woolworths 2 Comments

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Billingham town centre (16 Nov 2010). Photograph by Graham Soult

Billingham town centre (16 Nov 2010)

Regular readers of this blog will be pleased to hear that I went back to Billingham yesterday, following my earlier underwhelming visit, back in June. The homogeneity and datedness of Billingham town centre’s design mean that it’s never going to win an award for the quality of its urban spaces, but visiting on a sunny afternoon – rather than … Continue Reading

Eth-alworth Austin

Graham Soult November 05, 2010 Property, Variety Stores, Woolworths 1 Comment

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Shuttered Ethel Austin store. Photograph by Graham Soult

Shuttered Ethel Austin store

As variety chain Alworths celebrates its first birthday today, the opening of stores in Newark and Maidenhead has now been confirmed for later this month – and both will be in former Ethel Austin premises. 

While a rump of 90 Ethel Austin stores were saved in April, and are gradually being converted to a … Continue Reading

Ten minutes in Billingham town centre

Graham Soult July 22, 2010 Property, Woolworths 5 Comments

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Former Woolworths - and former Ethel Austin - in Billingham (28 Jun 2010). Photograph by Graham Soult

Former Woolworths - and former Ethel Austin - in Billingham (28 Jun 2010)

Until a few weeks ago, Billingham on Teesside had been one of only three former North East Woolworths – out of the 33 that closed following its 2008 administration – that I hadn’t yet visited. Finding myself … Continue Reading