Original Factory Shop fascia

The rapidly expanding mini-department store retailer, The Original Factory Shop, opened its seventh North East store, in Morpeth, last week. It adds to the retailer’s existing stores within the region at Stanley, Prudhoe, Ashington, Crook, Spennymoor and Shildon.

As noted previously, The Original Factory Shop has been snapping up quite a few former Woolworths branches across the UK – such as the one I visited in Porthmadog, and, closer to home, in Spennymoor.

Established Original Factory Shop store in Stanley (12 Apr 2010)

The Original Factory Shop, Spennymoor (12 March 2010)

However, while Woolies sites are one option, the retailer has a record of being creative in its choice of new store locations. As I blogged last week, Colwyn Bay is set to get an Original Factory Shop in a former pub (with an opening date of 31 August now announced), while the established store in Prudhoe – predating Woolies’ collapse – occupies a former Kwik Save site.

Existing store in Prudhoe (10 Apr 2010)

Meanwhile, the Morpeth location is, as I guessed it would be, the former M&S Simply Food site in the town’s Market Place. I should flag up that Morpeth was not one of the 25 Simply Food stores that was closed down last year due to “underperformance”, such as the shop in Whitley Bay.

Site of the new Morpeth store (10 Jul 2010)

Instead, the Morpeth site became vacant in November 2009 when M&S moved into a full-size store – with both food and fashions – within the new Sanderson Arcade shopping centre. Marks & Spencer had only occupied the Market Place site since 2006, having acquired it (and 27 other locations) from the supermarket Iceland at the point where Simply Food was expanding aggressively, and Iceland was emerging, under new ownership, from a torrid and lossmaking 2004-05.

New M&S in Morpeth's Sanderson Arcade (4 Dec 2009)

In the cyclical way of retail, Iceland returned to Morpeth in 2009 (in the former Woolies store opposite its original location), made a £110m pre-tax profit in the most recent financial year, and has regrown store numbers to 782 – their highest figure to date. Thus, there’s an element of going back to the future in Morpeth once again having a general retailer and Iceland facing each other across Bridge Street.

Summing up from a retail analysis point of view, the opening of The Original Factory Shop in Morpeth is notable on two fronts. First, for Morpeth, it’s great news in bringing a prime site back into use after a fairly short period of vacancy. With Sanderson Arcade having attracted some very strong names to Morpeth for the first time (including Fat Face, Laura Ashley, Paperchase, Crew Clothing and Waterstone’s), and with few voids elsewhere in the town centre, Morpeth seems to be riding the downturn well.

Second, for The Original Factory Shop, it’s interesting that Morpeth represents a location that is both more upmarket and more competitive than the “forgotten high streets” that it has traditionally targeted. It will be interesting to see whether this apparent shift in ambitions signals a push by The Original Factory Shop into other North East market towns, such as Hexham and Alnwick.

Alternatively, if the retailer’s expansion is focused on its more traditional type of location, there are still plenty of opportunities. After all, just in this region there are as yet no branches of The Original Factory Shop anywhere in Teesside, Wearside or Tyneside, meaning that places like Redcar, Seaham or Whitley Bay could yet be on the retailer’s radar.

Former Woolworths in Llandudno (25 Sep 2009)

Well, that’s a coincidence. Having blogged about the former Woolworths in Llandudno just a couple of days ago, Alworths has announced today that it will be taking over the site for its 11th store – and its first in Wales.

Having been occupied by a discount book store (Publishers Book Clearance) from April last year until just a few days ago, the Mostyn Street premises will reopen as Alworths on 13 August – earlier, it would seem, than the unofficially revealed new Alworths stores in Hertford and Tiverton.

Former Woolworths and Publishers Book Clearance, Llandudno (25 Sep 2009)

I’ve made a bit of a habit lately of rumbling Alworths’ store plans ahead of the official announcements – probably to the despair of the lovely PR people ^{[broken link removed]} - so all credit to MD Andy Latham and his team for getting one over me with this latest news!

The only whiff I got ahead of time was somebody finding Soult’s Retail View yesterday via a search for ‘Alworths Llandudno’ (which naturally piqued my curiosity), coupled with an awareness that the Llandudno site was now vacant again.

Pound-Mart's Cupar store (now Alworths), prior to closure. Photograph courtesy of Pound-Mart

Interestingly, just like the new Llandudno shop, several of the latest Alworths stores occupy former Woolies units that have temporarily housed other retailers – including those in Forfar and Cupar (previously Pound-Mart), and Hertford (formerly Well Worth It). As well as monitoring the BT Phone Book, it seems I need to keep an eye out for ‘end of lease’ sales as a possible sign of an impending Alworths.

Heading to Llandudno (20 Sep 2009)

Talking about the Llandudno outlet, Andy Latham rightly flags up that it will be Alworths’ “first coastal store”, and that Alworths will therefore “tailor the ranges accordingly”. In addition to the usual Alworths ranges, “holiday essentials and a range of beach toys” are promised during peak summer months.

Llandudno from the Great Orme (20 Sep 2009)

This sounds like a canny move – after all, Llandudno is a vibrant and highly attractive seaside resort, that still attracts a great many holidaymakers to enjoy the Great Orme Tramway, the Haulfre Gardens, and the town’s impressive pier. The top end of Mostyn Street has reportedly suffered from the loss of Woolworths, so a store that caters equally for both locals and visitors may be just what’s needed to perk things up again.

Empty unit in Llandudno's Mostyn Street (25 Sep 2009)

Just as Alworths’ press release for the Alloa store was interesting in flagging up its plans to open a further seven stores in Scotland “over time”, the Llandudno announcement reveals ambitious plans for Wales too. Latham reveals that the fledgling chain is “looking at a variety of other sites in both North and South Wales and we are looking to open a minimum of five more Alworths stores in Wales over the next year.”

This inevitably raises the question of where in Wales Alworths might open up next. As we know, many of the old Woolies sites have been snapped up already, including several – among them Barmouth, Cardigan, Chepstow, Porthmadog and Pwllheli – by The Original Factory Shop, a retailer with a product mix not too dissimilar to that of Alworths.

Of the three vacant Woolies sites in Wales that I blogged about a couple of days ago – in Caernarfon, Holyhead and Colwyn Bay – the former would seem the most likely potential location for an Alworths. Colwyn Bay, in contrast, has quite a bit of competition already, including Home Bargains, Instore and Argos in the buzzing Bayview Shopping Centre, and the planned branch of The Original Factory Shop that I mentioned in my earlier post.

When I first blogged about Holyhead back in November, I remarked that it was “just the kind of place where the closure of Woolies has left a really big hole.” I continued: “Though there is a Wilkinson on one of the out-of-town retail parks, I couldn’t spot any department store or good quality variety store in the town centre – just the type of gap that a store like Alworths could hopefully fill in the future.”

With Alworths now making its presence felt in North Wales, we’ll have to wait and see whether Holyhead is indeed part of its future plans.

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 that I didn’t get to when I was over there in September last year, and it’s interesting to see that it’s still empty and looking a little worse for wear by now. I can only assume that plans to convert the building into two shops, office accommodation and flats – announced in April last year – have fallen through.

For the moment at least, it means that Caernarfon’s Woolworths is one of a dwindling number that are still vacant, more than 18 months on from the retailer’s high profile collapse.

Former Woolworths and Publishers Book Clearance, Llandudno (25 Sep 2009)

Indeed, of the six North Wales Woolies that I saw in September, four were already reoccupied back then, by Publishers Book Clearance (Llandudno), Home Bargains (Prestatyn), The Original Factory Shop (Porthmadog) and B&M Bargains (Rhyl) – a pretty good snapshot of the types of retailers that have taken over Woolies sites across the UK as a whole.

I understand, however, that Publishers Book Clearance in Llandudno has closed down within the last few days due to the end of its temporary lease. I’m not clear whether any other retailer is lined up to move in. [UPDATE, 21 July 2010: There's a story about the closure of the store in today's North Wales Pioneer, which seems to confirm that no new tenant is in place yet.]

Planned site for The Original Factory Shop in Colwyn Bay (25 Sep 2009)

As for the two old Woolies stores that were empty when I visited – Colwyn Bay and Holyhead – I can’t find any evidence of either being occupied since.

Interestingly, The Original Factory Shop has recently announced plans to open in Colwyn Bay, but on the site of The Litten Tree pub in Station Road (still open when I visited) – despite the firm’s marketing director noting that “we have taken over a lot of the old Woolworths sites across the UK.”

Ethel Austin in Holyhead's Stanley Street, prior to closure (23 Sep 2009)

Meanwhile, it sounds like Holyhead’s high level of voids – which already included Woolies, Kwik Save and many others – has been further compounded by the loss of its Ethel Austin. However, it’s positive to read that the town is receiving funding from both the EU and the Welsh Assembly Government “in a bid to create jobs, win back shoppers and build on tourism projects”, and that “Anglesey County Council is inviting expressions of interest from those wishing to improve, develop, or occupy vacant premises in Holyhead Town Centre.”

Former Kwik Save, Holyhead (23 Sep 2009)

For all the vacant units, I felt that Holyhead had a great deal of charm and character when I visited last year, and was let down by some really unappealing and neglected buildings. Hopefully initiatives like the one that’s underway can tackle these barriers to investment, helping the town turn the corner, and encouraging it to become the vibrant place that would befit its status as a major ferry gateway into the UK.

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 back in September.

Former Woolworths, Holyhead (23 Sep 2009)

In Wales, I did pretty well to capture six old Woolies stores in the space of six days. First up is Holyhead, above, a town that, back in February, reportedly had a 39% retail vacancy rate.

Holyhead is just the kind of place where the closure of Woolies has left a really big hole. Though there is a Wilkinson on one of the out-of-town retail parks, I couldn’t spot any department store or good quality variety store in the town centre – just the type of gap that a store like Alworths could hopefully fill in the future.

Former Kwik Save, Holyhead (23 Sep 2009)

It’s particularly unfortunate that the shut-up Woolworths in Holyhead is directly opposite another large, empty and very forlorn-looking unit, formerly occupied by Kwik Save - a chain whose heartland was in North Wales. Though slightly off topic for a blog post about Woolworths, I also took a picture of the Kwik Save store for posterity, given that it’s quite unusual now to see an old Kwik Save store – particularly one in such a prominent location – that hasn’t been taken over by another retailer. 

Celtic Gateway Bridge, Holyhead (23 Sep 2009)

I did find Holyhead to be a town of two halves – though walking up the main street was quite a depressing experience, there are obvious signs of recent investment. Most notably, the Celtic Gateway bridge - opened in October 2006, and linking Market Street to the ferry terminal and railway station - is stunning (albeit, for a Tynesider, oddly reminiscent of something else), and incidentally provides an excellent vantage point for photographing the back of the old Woolworths store.

Back of former Woolworths, Holyhead (23 Sep 2009)

Elsewhere in my journeys around North Wales, the stories of the old Woolies stores that I came across were generally more positive. Colwyn Bay was (and as far as I know still is) empty; however, the property is supposedly being actively marketed^{[broken link removed]}, is a good-looking building compared to many other Woolies, and benefits from being in a surprisingly lively and attractive town centre. Given these positives, I would be surprised if the unit wasn’t snapped up before long.

Former Woolworths, Colwyn Bay (25 Sep 2009)

Colwyn Bay's attractive Station Road (25 Sep 2009)

Just along the coast, the old Woolworths stores in Rhyl and Prestatyn are both now occupied. Rhyl’s is a B&M Bargains, though I was pleased to see that the building’s history is unlikely to be forgotten for as long as the large letters spelling out ‘WOOLWORTHS’ remain in the second-floor windows.

Former Woolworths, Rhyl (25 Sep 2009)

The store in Prestatyn, meanwhile, is now Home Bargains, featuring a similar, grey and burgundy fascia to that of the new Tamworth store. Once again, Home Bargains has done a good job of enhancing the building’s appearance with a surprisingly attractive new shopfront.

Former Woolworths - now Home Bargains - in Prestatyn (25 Sep 2009)

In the delightful seaside town of Llandudno, the old Woolies looks to have undergone a minimal makeover to become a a Publishers Book Clearance store.

Former Woolworths - now Publishers Book Clearance - in Llandudno (25 Sep 2009)

I’m sure that there should be an apostrophe in there somewhere – either Publisher’s or Publishers’ could work, depending on how many publishers are doing the clearing – but the business appears not to use one. On that basis, let’s hope the store offers Lynne Truss’ Eats Shoots & Leaves among its available titles.

Finally, in Porthmadog, I was able to get a photo of The Original Factory Shop, which has taken over the town’s former Woolworths site.

Former Woolworths - now The Original Factory Shop - in Porthmadog (21 Sep 2009)

Spot the Woolies clue!

Getting closer up, notice the little square icon on the entrance doors, divided into red and white triangles. Hurray that a little bit of Woolies lives on in North Wales!

Believe it or not, I still have photos of five more old Woolworths, all up here in the North East, that I haven’t featured yet. Looks like I’d better get on with Part 3…