Soult's Retail View

Former Woolworths, Newton Aycliffe (5 Jan 2012)

Headlines:

• 214 ex-Woolworths stores visited, out of the 807 that closed following its collapse
• Of those, only 12 currently empty (6%)
• 7 continually empty (3%)
• 35 with two or more post-Woolies uses (16%).

Looking at my blog, you might be forgiven for thinking that I’ve forgotten about Woolworths in recent months.

It’s certainly true that the number of Woolies-related posts has slowed down a bit – partly due … Continue Reading

Promotion for Crawley store on Wilkinson website (15 Aug 2012)

Wilkinson’s “newest and most exciting concept store” has opened at 14-26 The Broadway in Crawley this morning (15 August).

Designed to “offer the community a more modern and interactive shopping experience”, the new store further evolves the modern look that Wilkinson has been rolling out across its estate, such as … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now The Original Factory Shop), Chepstow (24 Mar 2011). Photograph by Alastair Leaver

Back in February I featured a batch of readers’ ex-Woolies pics, showcasing the former stores in Warrington (now Poundland), Batley (JBM Bargains) and Beverley (Boots). … Continue Reading

The iconic Tyne Bridge

The retail hearts of Newcastle and Gateshead are set to be connected by a new £200m shopping mall, running the length of the iconic Tyne Bridge.

The scheme will involve building a new modern steel and glass structure underneath the existing road deck, providing a covered mall route between the Newcastle and Gateshead sides, and affording panoramic views over the existing developments at Newcastle Quayside and Gateshead Quays.

The project is also set … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths, Rhyl (27 Feb 2011). Photograph by Dave Roberts

While Llandudno mulls the loss of its Alworths, the former Woolworths in nearby Rhyl is trying to make an unexpected comeback.

As captured by Dave Roberts, above, part of the B&M Bargains sign has fallen off, exposing the old Woolworths signage underneath.

… Continue Reading

B&M fascia

Many thanks to Lee Dymond and Martin, who both emailed me about the news of B&M Bargains opening in the former Woolworths store in Burton, Staffordshire. As I mentioned last month, the 11,000 sq ft Coopers Square unit has remained empty since Woolworths’ closure more than two years ago, but this … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now Sports Direct), Stafford (30 Sep 2010)

The more former Woolworths stores I blog about, the more predictable it gets that I’ll be mentioning now-familiar discount names such as B&M Bargains, Home Bargains, Poundland or … Continue Reading

Graham filming with the BBC's Chris Jackson in Stockton High Street

Those of you in the North East and Cumbria (or anywhere else with access to Freesat), may be interested in watching BBC1 at 7.30 pm tonight (Monday 6 December)! [UPDATE: The programme is now available to watch on iPlayer.]

The … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now B&M Bargains), Penrith (19 Jun 2010)

In between touring the East Midlands, travelling up to Berwick, and stopping off in Horley on my way out the country, I also found time this … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths, Coalville (24 Aug 2010)

Regular readers of Soult’s Retail View will know that I have something of a penchant for visiting lots of old Woolworths stores in a short time, usually – for better or worse – by bus.

Back in August, I took the opportunity to undertake another such jaunt, bringing in 11 former Woolies sites … Continue Reading

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 … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths, Caernarfon (July 2010). Photograph by Sally Daffarn

I’m not quite sure if it should be a cause for celebration or urgent self-reflection when my friends start emailing over photographs of old Woolworths that they have spotted on their travels… Whichever, many thanks to Sally Daffarn for capturing this shot of the former Woolies in Caernarfon, which she “saw on holiday and thought of you!”

Caernarfon is one of the North East Woolworths sites … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths, Peterlee (12 March 2010)

Only counting the (33) North East Woolworths stores that closed down following the company’s 2008 administration, my quest to photograph the full set is nearing completion – with five more new ones featured in this post, only Berwick, Billingham and Stockton’s Portrack Lane are left to get.

However, the ever-expanding list of … Continue Reading

Well worth it? Well, perhaps...

Back in September, you might recall me trumpeting the fact that I’d visited six old Woolworths in a day. Today, however, I must confess to visiting (and photographing) ten in one day – or eleven if you count the extra one that I passed on the bus but was too tired to stop at. Needless to say, you … Continue Reading

Whitley Road in Whitley Bay (16 December 2009)

Visiting Whitley Bay in North Tyneside today, it was apparent that while there ARE indeed a lot of empty shops – as blogged about previously here – there’s still just about enough going on to keep shoppers interested. I’ll give a fuller rundown of my visit, including my reaction to the newly opened … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths, Consett (10 Oct 2009)

After Parts 1 and 2 of my former Woolworths photo gallery, it’s time to finish up – at least for the moment – with some more shots of old Woolies sites up here in the North East.

First up is the former store in … Continue Reading

B&M fascia

Barely a day or two after writing about Whitley Bay Woolworths still being empty, I now read that it’s going to become a B&M Bargains store – and will open on Thursday.

Relatively little-known before 2009, Blackpool-based B&M Bargains is definitely one of the biggest beneficiaries of Woolworths’ demise, picking … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths - now B&M Bargains - in Rhyl (25 Sep 2009)

Last month I posted photographs of eight former Woolies stores as far apart as Tamworth in Staffordshire and Perth in Scotland. Now, as promised, I’m pleased to present another collection, this time from my visit to North Wales … Continue Reading

Woolworths Worthit logo

Wandering around the variety store Poundstretcher in Hexham yesterday, I was understandably surprised to spot lots of Woolworths-branded products on the shelves, including – among many other things – Worthit DVD players and laundry baskets.

Presumably, Poundstretcher has snapped up surplus warehouse stock that would have been destined for Woolies, had it survived. It struck me as quite ironic, given that Poundstretcher put its weak performance over Christmas down to competition from Woolworths’ clearance sale – selling off … Continue Reading

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 … Continue Reading