Soult's Retail View

Sainsbury's Local (formerly Woolworths), Hessle Road, Hull (11 Oct 2011)

While tearing around Barnsley and Hull visiting UGO supermarkets last month, I was pleased to be able to work in an unexpected ex-Woolworths. Not knowing Hull very well at all beforehand, … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now Store Twenty One), South Shields (22 Sep 2011)

Store Twenty One has opened its doors in South Shields today, meaning that the whole of the former Woolworths unit at 100-108 King Street (store number #104) is now back … Continue Reading

Former Safeway, Byker (6 Jun 2011)

It’s amazing how a throwaway remark can prompt an entire discussion on something unexpected…

In my January post about the divvying up of Netto’s North East store estate following the chain’s acquisition by Asda, I made passing reference to Birtley’s former Safeway – a store … Continue Reading

Original former Woolworths (now Store Twenty One), Redcar (4 May 2011)

One of my main motivations for visiting Redcar yesterday was to get a photo of the town’s original former Woolworths at 19 High Street, above, which – inexplicably – I’d failed to spot when I was there … Continue Reading

Around the Stores (The New Bond, August 1949)

I’ve mentioned Woolies’ old ‘house journal’, The New Bond, almost as often as I’ve written about the history of Byker’s Woolworths stores, so I was pleased to find a reference to the latter in a recently … Continue Reading

The building in question

Since I first blogged about it just over a year ago under the heading ‘Is this shop in Shields Road, Byker an old Woolies?’, the history of the building in question at 47-49 Shields Road (pictured above) has prompted … Continue Reading

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

Former Woolworths in Shields Road. Photo from Newcastle City Council, P&T Image Archive

Since I first wrote about back it in January, we’re still yet to establish whether the A&S Discount Store building in Byker’s Shields Road (below) was ever an old Woolies.

It’s not for want of trying, though – with 16 comments and rising, … Continue Reading

New Poundland store, Gateshead (21 Sep 2010)

Returning home after a two-week holiday in Montenegro (more of which in due course), it seems like quite a lot has been happening within Tyneside’s retail scene while I’ve been away. 

As well as Asda’s plans for the old Byker Woolies getting the … Continue Reading

Former Linthorpe Road Woolworths, Middlesbrough

Last week’s blog post about the long-closed former Woolworths in Benwell seems to have opened the floodgates to lots of comments and insights about other nearly-forgotten Woolies in the North East – many thanks indeed for all your contributions!

While Seamaster … Continue Reading

Copies of The New Bond

One of the things I most love about researching retail history is the way that interesting stories can emerge from the tiniest leads. 

As a Woolworths enthusiast, I’ve recently discovered that a fantastic starting point for retail history nuggets of a Woolies nature is The New Bond, the ‘house journal’ of F. W. Woolworth & Co. Ltd that was published between 1935 … Continue Reading

Still not sure if this is an old Woolies or not... (7 Mar 2010)

Back in January I posted a shot of what is now the A&S Discount store in Byker’s Shields Road, questioning whether it had … Continue Reading

Ethel Austin, Bishop Auckland

Reports that value fashion retailer Ethel Austin and its sister homewares business, Au Naturale, are poised to enter administration – less than two years after both chains were rescued from previous administrations - is sad and disappointing news, as well as being quite surprising in its timing. 

True, there has been talk of an impending refinancing deal for … Continue Reading

Is this an old Woolies? (27 Sep 2009)

Here’s a retail history question for you – was this building (above), in Shields Road in Byker, once a Woolworths? [UPDATE, 28 Feb 2011: It seems that it was, as http://www.soultsretailview.co.uk/2011/02/28/mystery-of-shields-road-woolies-building-solved/ explains.]

I spotted it back in September when I was paying a visit to the … 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