Gateshead car park (26 Jul 2010)

In my blog post about Gateshead’s Get Carter car park this morning, I suggested that “…it seems hard to believe that the car park is finally going to disappear from the skyline after so many false starts.”

However, it really *is* going. Demolition began this morning, with quite a few bits nibbled out by the time I went along to take a look this evening.

Here, for posterity, are some shots of this quite historic day for Gateshead – the beginning of the end for an architectural icon, but the beginning, one must hope, of a retail renaissance for the town centre.

Gateshead car park (26 Jul 2010)

Gateshead car park (26 Jul 2010)

Gateshead car park (26 Jul 2010)

Gateshead car park (26 Jul 2010)

Gateshead car park (26 Jul 2010)

Gateshead car park (26 Jul 2010)

Gateshead car park (26 Jul 2010)

Gateshead car park from Windmill Hills Town Park (26 Jul 2010)

Though it’s going to be around a while longer yet, I also got a couple of shots of the current Tesco store. Looking back, from a retail history point of view, I’ve always enjoyed how the placement of the original ‘T E S C O’ lettering is still very visible on the store’s façade.

Tesco Gateshead (26 Jul 2010)

And looking forward – but seemingly appreciating the agonising slowness with which the development has progressed – I’ve always gained a chuckle from the banner proclaiming that Tesco is ‘still open’ (presumably in case anyone assumes that it’s actually been demolished already).

Tesco Gateshead (26 Jul 2010)

Only time will tell how much longer that remains the case. Once the car park is gone, and plans for the redevelopment are approved, then the Tesco store will itself have to come down, clearing the way for the new, bigger Tesco Extra that will replace it.

Hoardings promoting the new surround the old (18 Jun 2010)

Since it opened in 1969, Gateshead town centre’s Trinity Square car park has been many things to different people, but always impossible to ignore.

To some, it has been an icon of the architectural Brutalism movement; to others, an eyesore that has blighted the Tyneside skyline. It is perhaps most famous, however, as a backdrop to the 1971 film Get Carter, most notably the scene where Michael Caine’s character, Jack Carter, throws corrupt local businessman Cliff Brumby (Bryan Mosley) off the roof.

However, today – Monday 26 July – the bulldozers are finally set to move in and start razing the Get Carter car park to the ground.

Surrounding buildings have already been demolished (18 Jun 2010)

As the cranes that have sat dormant on the site for months – having already bulldozed the Trinity Square shopping centre and Indoor Market hall surrounding the car park – spring back into life, it’s appropriate both to reflect upon the history of the Get Carter car park, and to look forward to what is expected to replace it.

Doomed from the start?

Owen Luder's Dunston Rocket tower block, also in Gateshead (11 April 2010)

Trinity Square was designed in 1962 by Owen Luder – the architect responsible for Portsmouth’s now-demolished Tricorn Centre, as well as the Derwent Tower (better known as the Dunston Rocket), also in Gateshead, and itself slated for demolition. However, the development was not completed until seven years later, in 1969, when its uncompromising architectural style was already starting to fall out of favour.

Gateshead's Get Carter car park (28 May 2010)

As an architectural statement, there’s no doubt that the car park is bold, dramatic and – against a blue sky, like in the photograph above - almost beautiful. However, the biggest problem with both the car park and the surrounding shopping centre has been, in my view, their inability to fulfil the functions for which they were designed.

The structure dominates the skyline (2 Mar 2010)

For example, several floors of parking have long been closed off due to structural problems, while the space intended for a rooftop restaurant has never been occupied. When I did some research on the building a few years ago I was struck to see that there had been several proposals, in the 1960s and 70s, to use the rooftop space, but none that had come to fruition. One scheme, bizarrely, was thrown out due to a “lack of parking”.

The unused rooftop restaurant space (17 Sep 2009)

Meanwhile, in the shadow of the car park, the shopping centre itself has been a fairly miserable place in recent years – all concrete decks and grim spaces that face in on themselves, and that turn their back on the rest of the town centre. In short, it had become an unpleasant and poorly configured environment for both shoppers and retailers.

With the prospect of demolition and redevelopment being raised in the 1990s, some – including Get Carter enthusiasts and the Twentieth Century Society – countered with the view that the car park should be designated a listed building. However, it’s difficult to see what other viable purpose the structure could have been used for. It might have lent itself to redevelopment as a gallery, Tate Modern style, but in converting the Baltic Flour Mill into a Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead already had one cultural centerpiece.

Countdown to demolition

Gateshead's Get Carter car park (16 Dec 2009)

Given a structure that was unfit for its current use, difficult to convert to anything else, and – perhaps most critically – seen as a blight on a town centre that was successfully reinventing itself through new developments (such as the Baltic, the Sage Gateshead music centre, and the Gateshead Millenniun Bridge), demolition was always the most likely outcome. However, even once its fate was sealed, the demise of the structure has been a long time coming.

In August 2002, fans of Get Carter were “given the chance to visit one of Tyneside’s most famous movie locations before it is knocked down.” Five years later, in 2007, the structure was still there, but with demolition scheduled to “begin in the autumn” and redevelopment plans – by the landowner Tesco – the subject of a public roadshow around Gateshead. In September 2007, demolition was delayed, before then being set for March 2008.

Gateshead's Get Carter car park (18 Jun 2010)

In April that year – with the structure clearly still in situ – it was “opened to the public for one last time”. In September 2008, however, it was confirmed that demolition was “on hold” – but still intended to go ahead ASAP – while the planning application for the site’s redevelopment was finalised.

The car park was finally closed to the public in January 2009; pledged to “be demolished in the next few months” in August last year; but put on hold again in December pending the development of “satisfactory” plans for the redevelopment of the town centre.

The existing Tesco store will also be demolished in due course (18 Jun 2010)

Finally, last month, demolition plans for the car park were confirmed following the signing of a development agreement between Gateshead Council and Tesco, with a firm date of Monday 26 July later announced. Now, with demolition due to begin in just a few hours, it seems hard to believe that the car park is finally going to disappear from the skyline after so many false starts.

The future

Once the car park is gone, attention will turn fully to what will replace it. Spenhill, Tesco’s regeneration subsidiary, finally submitted its planning application for the site earlier this month.

The existing Tesco store, which will be demolished (18 Jun 2010)

Covering the demolished Trinity Square as well as the site of the existing Tesco store (still currently trading), the proposed development – still to be known as Trinity Square – will include a Tesco Extra as well as 45 other retail units of up to 30,000 sq ft, offices, 900 student beds, a new town square, parking, and (potentially) a hotel.

Trinity Square hoarding (18 Jun 2010)

In eastern Europe, it’s not unusual to find a large Tesco department store sitting in a prime location within a town or city centre. From a UK perspective, however, it would be easy to fear that a development led and anchored by Tesco would take the form of a retail box surrounded by a sea of car parking.

Computer-generated image of what the new Trinity Square will look like

Happily, the artist’s impressions and intended mix of uses seem very promising. On the retail side, for example, there will now be more – and larger – units than were suggested during the earlier consultation, while office uses are a logical extension of the successful commercial property developments that have taken place on Gateshead Quays. Perhaps most importantly, the student accommodation and hotel – hopefully with accompanying bars and restaurants – should bring some life after office hours to a town centre that is currently very quiet once the shops close.

The modern image of Gateshead

I’ve always held the view that this once-in-a-lifetime investment in Gateshead town centre needs to mirror the quality of the neighbouring quayside developments, rather than settling for something ordinary. If, as seems to be the case, the Tesco store is properly integrated, visually and physically, into a wider scheme that is bold and modern, then the whole development should be a real boost for Gateshead.

More than anything, the demolition of the Get Carter car park has been compelled by the promise that something better will replace it. It’s now up to Gateshead Council and Tesco to make sure they deliver on that promise, so that Gateshead residents can add Trinity Square to the growing list of local landmarks of which they are rightly proud.

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 stores that had already closed down in previous years – currently standing at 17, of which 7 have been photographed – means that I’ll be kept busy touring the North East’s towns and suburbs for a little while yet.

First up, however, are a couple of revisits, with the old Gateshead Woolies store (#154) still determinedly empty.

Former Woolworths, Gateshead (12 March 2010)

Better news in Chester-le-Street though, where the old Woolies (store #267) had been taken over by B&M Bargains since my previous visit a couple of months earlier.

Former Woolworths (now B&M Bargains), Chester-le-Street (12 March 2010)

The first new stop is Stanley in County Durham, where Store Twenty One has done a good job of turning the old Woolies shop in Front Street (store #873) into a bright and appealing fashion and homewares store.

Former Woolworths (now Store Twenty One), Stanley (12 April 2010)

Less impressive is the company’s website - firstly for not having the Stanley shop listed in its store locator, and secondly for having the phrase “cheap clothes” within its title tags. To me, the words “cheap clothes” conjure up an unpleasant – and probably unfair – image of the retailer’s range being 100% driven by price at the expense of fashion. Indeed, using such language surely undermines the more effective “fashionably affordable” tagline that is used elsewhere on the site. Hopefully these issues will be addressed when the promised new site launches later this month.

Staying in County Durham, the 5,000 sq ft former Woolworths in Peterlee’s Yoden Way (store #987) was still empty when I visited in March, and as far as I know remains that way.

Former Woolworths, Peterlee (12 March 2010)

Though hardly the most beautiful building, that row of shops holds some historic significance as the first part of Peterlee new town to be built. The Francis Frith website features a rather quirky shot of the Yoden Way shops  surrounded by empty space – certainly a contrast to today’s busy and built up shopping centre. The Woolworths shop is easily recognisable in the old photograph by its distinctive, pale façade.

Former Woolworths, Newton Aycliffe (12 March 2010)

Down the road in Newton Aycliffe, we have another new town, another empty Woolies (store #1007), and another property that wouldn’t win any prizes for its looks.

On to Darlington next, where the formerWoolworths at 12-18 Northgate (store #28) was in the midst of building work to turn it into a new branch of Next. I understand that the Next store is not open yet, but is due to be finished later in the summer.

Former Woolworths, Darlington (12 March 2010)

Cornmill entrance to former Woolworths, Darlington (12 March 2010)

Finally to Spennymoor, and the old Woolies there (store #278) is one of many nationwide that has been taken over by The Original Factory Shop, the self-styled “low-price local department store”.

Former Woolworths (now The Original Factory Shop), Spennymoor (12 March 2010)

The chain has a policy of opening in smaller towns with limited non-food competition, and this is reflected in its choice of North East locations to date – among them Ashington, Crook, Prudhoe, Shildon and Stanley.

Interestingly, The Original Factory Shop’s own website indicates that a new store will be ‘opening soon’ in Morpeth, in Northumberland – I can’t find any further details yet, but presume that it will be in the former M&S Simply Food unit, vacated last year following the opening of a full M&S store in the new Sanderson Arcade.

TK Maxx site at MetroCentre's Blue Mall

The trouble of spending too much of my time visiting town centres and shopping malls is that I end up with more potential blog topics than I ever have time to actually write about, accompanied by folders full of unused digital photographs.

One story that I’ve been sitting on for a while is the upcoming opening of TK Maxx at Gateshead’s MetroCentre, adding to a portfolio of Tyneside stores that already includes a Newcastle city centre shop at Monument Mall, and retail park sites at Byker, Kingston Park and Team Valley.

When news of the MetroCentre opening emerged back in October, it was reported that TK Maxx would be taking over the two-storey former Woolworths unit – an assumption that seemed to make good sense. It turns out, however, that this is not the case: TK Maxx will, in fact, be moving into the space in the Blue Mall that was occupied by the Odeon cinema until December last year. If you’ve been following such things, you’ll know that this space was freed up following the opening of a new Odeon in the Yellow Mall, occupying the site that used to be the New MetroLand funfair.

TK Maxx and HomeSense coming soon

As reported by Retail Week, and now confirmed by the ‘coming soon’ signage on site (above), the upcoming 45,000 sq ft store is noteworthy in that it will be the first in the UK to open under a dual TK Maxx and HomeSense fascia.

HomeSense is TK Maxx owner TJX’s homewares chain, and is an established format for the company in the US and Canada. In the UK, the first HomeSense stores, in Cardiff and Poole, only opened in 2008; the chain has now expanded to 16 sites, with a further four scheduled to open in June and July, though none so far have opened in the North East or Yorkshire. As it is, the HomeSense website suggests that we will still have to wait until ‘late September’ for the opening of the MetroCentre store.

Former Woolworths at MetroCentre

All this means, of course, that the future of the large former Woolworths site at MetroCentre remains unclear. A recent planning application – submitted in February – for a 1,617 sqm (17,405 sq ft) extension to the unit suggests that something is in the offing, though I understand that there has been no decision on that application as yet. I have heard rumours that an existing MetroCentre tenant may be poised to upgrade to the former Woolworths unit, so perhaps more news will be forthcoming if and when the pending planning application is approved.

Peacocks logo

Peacocks has submitted a planning application for new signage at the former Zavvi site in Newcastle’s Northumberland Street, confirming recent rumours that the fashion retailer was being lined up to occupy the 17,000 sq ft store.

Published today, the application (2010/0159/01/ADV) is for the “display of internally illuminated fascia sign, internally illuminated projecting sign and non illuminated banner sign to Northumberland Street elevation and black vinyl graphic to windows on Northumberland Street and Brunswick Place elevation”. An accompanying application – 2010/0160/01/DET – has been submitted for the “installation of new shopfront and replacement of air conditioning units to roof”.

Former Zavvi, Newcastle (27 Sep 2009)

Very few changes to the unit itself are envisaged – the application states that Peacocks will occupy the existing three trading levels (basement, ground and first floor), and will retain all the existing links between the store and Monument Mall. In a previous blog post, back in August, I wrote that “one of Zavvi’s strengths was having entrances/exits on all three shopping levels of Monument Mall, as well as to Northumberland Street, helping shoppers permeate throughout”. The retention of all these routes in and out of the new Peacocks store will undoubtedly provide a footfall boost to Monument Mall’s other retailers, across all of the shopping centre’s three main levels.

Looking beyond Monument Mall, and the obvious fact that a large empty unit will be brought back into use, Peacocks’ arrival can only be good news for Newcastle city centre. Though it may have had a less fashionable image in the past, today’s Peacocks is a highly popular and successful retailer – it now has over 500 UK stores, with plans to open 40 more in 2010-11, and reported like-for-like sales growth of 8% in the eight weeks up to 2 January, a significantly better figure than Next (3.2%) or M&S (1.2%). It’s newer stores – such as North East branches opened in Chester-le-Street, Seaham and Gateshead in the last year or two – are smart and attractive, with bright and interesting frontages that enliven the street scene. Peacocks’ arrival at Monument Mall can undoubtedly be seen as a vote of confidence in Newcastle city centre from a thriving retailer that has not previously had a presence here.

Existing Peacocks store in Gateshead

Above all, we can celebrate the fact that we’re getting a Peacocks instead of another branch of Barclays Bank – an idea that seems even more crazy now that the former Zavvi site’s continued viability as a large, three-storey retail unit has been so clearly demonstrated.

Thanks to TownPlanningNE at SkyscraperCity’s Newcastle City Centre Retail forum for the tip-off regarding the planning application!

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 will surely be expecting me to run through them all, so here goes… 

Former Woolworths, Gateshead (16 Dec 2009)

First up is Gateshead, which – inevitably – still looks much the same as it did when I last blogged about it. There could be room for a B&M Bargains or 99p Stores in Gateshead town centre, but it’s difficult to see any retailers being attracted at the moment, given that the High Street remains a demolition site, and there’s still little indication of when work will start on the much-heralded Trinity Square scheme.

Former Woolworths, Jarrow (16 Dec 2009)

A few stops along the Metro, and the former Woolies in Jarrow is also still empty. I’d never been to Jarrow town centre before, but was quite impressed with the town’s Viking Centre – originally built as Britain’s first Arndale Centre in 1961, but evidently much revamped since then. It’s well anchored by several large big-name stores (Peacocks, New Look, Wilkinson, Morrisons), was busy with shoppers, and appeared to have hardly any voids apart from the former Woolies site. 

Former Woolworths, South Shields (16 Dec 2009)

A few more Metro stops along, and South Shields is one of those slightly curious cases of a former Woolworths that has been carved into two, with part of it occupied and the rest still empty. I do always wonder about the wisdom of splitting large shop units, given that many towns have plenty of smaller premises available to let, but can’t always offer the large units that some of the highest profile retailers require. Still, one must assume that the building’s landlords know what they’re doing.

As things stand, a chunk of the building is occupied by Poundland, while the rest is apparently ‘to let’. Back in September, the Shields Gazette claimed that the remaining half was to be occupied by Primark, which always struck me as rather strange - surely if Primark was coming, it would have wanted the whole building, given that its stores are becoming increasingly huge. Certainly, I’m yet to see or hear anything to corroborate the Gazette’s claim – which is a shame, as I’m sure a Primark would be positive for South Shields town centre.

Former Woolworths, North Shields (16 Dec 2009)

Hopping over the Tyne on the Shields Ferry to North Shields, and the former Woolworths there is something a little different – a Cramlington Textiles Superstore. I was quite impressed with this shop, which sells DIY ranges, such as paint and wallpaper, alongside a vast array of curtains, cushions and bedding. The interior of the store has not had a lot done to it – I noted the Woolworths ‘Thank you for shopping with us’ signs still in place above the exits – but it’s tidy and well laid out, with fixtures and fittings that show off the product range to good effect.

Former Woolworths, Wallsend (16 Dec 2009)

Down the road in Wallsend, the new occupant of the old Woolworths store – Well Worth It – has garnered some regional media attention for its Woolworths-style format (and name – perhaps another case for the Shop Direct lawyers?), complete with the obligatory pick and mix. Well Worth It is part of the Blyth-based North East Convenience Stores empire, and this is reflected in the store having a significant grocery offer that occupies perhaps half the floorspace. Other than that, there seemed to be some good offers in areas such as homewares and toys, and there were certainly a decent number of people looking around.

Overall, however, I’m slightly ambivalent about these types of discount variety stores, and I didn’t really see anything that makes Well Worth It stand out from B&M Bargains, 99p Stores and the like. On the other hand, you could argue that if Well Worth It enjoys even a fraction of those retailers’ recent success, being distinctive will barely matter.

Woolworths in Whitley Bay: how it looked before (26 Dec 2008)

...and how it looks now (16 Dec 2009)

Talking about B&M Bargains brings us nicely onto the next stop in my journey, at Whitley Bay. The B&M store there has only been open a few weeks, and it was nice to see the building full of stock as well as people – all a bit of a change from my last visit, on Boxing Day 2008, when the then Woolworths store had just four days to go and very little left to sell. As is customary with B&M, the shop has had only a minimal makeover, inside or out – note the familiar shopfront with its light blue Woolies door handles – but it’s hard to knock a formula that is clearly working well. 

Former Woolworths, Blyth (16 Dec 2009)

Up the coast a few miles and my next stop was Blyth, in Northumberland – another place I’d never visited before. The former Woolies there – now a PerfectHome shop – occupies a really prominent location in the surprisingly attractive market square, directly opposite the large Westgate Department Store. The new store looked very appealing, and had evidently had care lavished on both the frontage and the interior.

I remain unconvinced, however, about the usefulness of pay-weekly stores – such as PerfectHome or BrightHouse – as footfall drivers within town centres, given the types of products that they sell and the quite specific demographic that they target. It was difficult to judge today, given that Blyth town centre as a whole seemed very quiet, probably at least in part due to the terrible weather.

Former Woolworths, Ashington (16 Dec 2009)

A few miles away in Ashington, the former Woolworths has again been divided into two, with Heron Foods occupying half, and the other part currently empty. I didn’t go in, as it’s a little difficult to pop into a freezer centre just to browse. Undoubtedly though, Heron Foods, just like B&M Bargains, has really capitalised on the demise of Woolworths to rapidly expand its presence in a way that wouldn’t ordinarily have been possible.

Former Woolworths, Morpeth (16 Dec 2009)

On to Morpeth, and though I’ve featured the town’s former Woolworths – now Iceland – before, I wasn’t going to let that stop me capturing an up-to-date photo while I was there. Honourable mention must also go to the old Woolies in Gosforth – previously featured here – which I passed on the bus on the way home, and noted was now open (and busy) as The Co-operative Food.

Former Woolworths, Newcastle (16 Dec 2009)

We end the day almost as we started: back on Tyneside, this time in Newcastle, with a former Woolies that is still empty and, as I blogged before, seems unlikely to see any action soon. Over the course of the day, however, it was heartening to see so many former Woolworths shops that have been brought back into use – in whole or in part – even if none of them quite manage to capture that elusive ‘Wonder of Woolies’.

Borders at Retail World, Gateshead. Photograph courtesy of Land Securities

Mixed fortunes in the news today for two specialist retailers that both have a presence at Team Valley Retail World in Gateshead – HobbyCraft and Borders.

Privately-owned HobbyCraft, which describes itself as “the UK’s largest chain of dedicated arts and crafts superstores”, has reported a 67% leap in full year pre-tax profits, with like-for-like sales over the last 35 weeks rising by 9%. Rather than suffering in the downturn, HobbyCraft has capitalised on Britons’ rediscovered enthusiasm for ‘making their own stuff’, firmly establishing itself as the market leader and expert in its field. Furthermore, with a compact estate of only 38 stores, there’s still plenty of scope for it to grow.

Message from the administrators on the Borders UK website tonight

In contrast, today’s announcement that Borders UK has gone into administration comes as little surprise, after months of speculation about the 45-store bookshop chain’s future. Just as Safeway in the UK was latterly an entirely separate business from the (still going) US chain of the same name, Borders UK no longer has any connection with the US Borders Group, having been sold off to private equity investors Risk Capital Partners in September 2007, and then sold on again, to Valco Capital Partners, in June 2009. Just in the last few days, WHSmith is reported to have pulled out of talks to possibly buy the chain. 

I’ve always enjoyed visiting the Team Valley Borders store – it is clean, spacious, and reasonably well-stocked, and I’ve always been impressed by the smartness and friendliness of the staff. As a retail brand, however, I think Borders in the UK has struggled to define a truly distinctive position – what exactly is it, for example, that makes a Borders store different from a branch of Waterstones or WHSmith, or, indeed, that gives it an advantage over Amazon.co.uk? Beyond the delightful aroma of Starbucks coffee, it’s difficult to think of an answer.

For the sake of the 1,100 staff who tonight are fearing for their jobs – including those at the North East stores in Silverlink and Stockton, as well as Gateshead – it would be excellent news if a buyer for Borders could be found. In reality, though, it’s hard to see any other retailer that would want to buy the entire business as a going concern. After all, it’s already been through three owners in as many years, and even in 2007 had found itself in that awful place where journalists prefix any reference to Borders with the adjective “troubled”.

More likely, sadly, is that WHSmith will cherrypick the best retail park sites, with Waterstone’s perhaps picking up one or two city centre stores; however, there are likely to be few such locations where the HMV Group-owned Waterstone’s isn’t represented already.

Interestingly, it’s exactly a year ago today that Woolworths went into administration; since the demise of Zavvi just a month later, HMV has had the high street music and DVD market virtually to itself. Now, with the possible fall of Borders, its sister company Waterstone’s might well find itself in a similar position of dominance.

At a time of recession, HMV’s resilient performance is to be commended; similarly, Waterstone’s continued presence and growth on the high street, in the face of intense competition from online stores, is surely welcome. Our town and city centres will be poorer, however, if Waterstone’s – having already swallowed Dillons and Ottakar’s in its lifetime – is the only choice of bookshop we have left.

MetroCentre logo on empty unit

I popped over to MetroCentre this afternoon, and spotted a few things that seemed worthy of blogging about.

Millets: Following on from my post last week about Blacks Leisure announcing plans to shut 89 loss-making branches, I noticed that the MetroCentre Millets store is already having a closing down sale. However, the nearby Blacks store looks like it’s safe.

I’m yet to come across a list of the stores being closed (there is nothing, as far as I can see, attached to the official announcement), but I imagine that a good few will be in those locations where Blacks and Millets are competing with each other. To be honest, I’ve always struggled to understand what the difference between the two is supposed to be.

Woolworths: MetroCentre’s vast size – there are 330 stores – means that it has suffered from having a larger than usual number of nationally defunct retailers. Rosebys, Zavvi, The Pier, the Original Shoe Company and, inevitably, Woolworths were among the prominent voids that I spotted today.

Former Woolworths at MetroCentre

Woolworths took over the old two-level C&A unit at MetroCentre in 2000, following that retailer’s decision to move out of the UK. However, there’s no sign as yet of anyone coming in to take Woolworths’ place. I struggle, in fact, to think of a retailer that might want to occupy it. Most of the potential tenants for a unit this size – Bhs, Primark, perhaps New Look – are already represented at MetroCentre, while other possibles, such as Wilkinson, don’t seem to make a habit of opening stores in large regional shopping centres. Any thoughts, anyone?

Waterstone’s: MetroCentre’s Waterstone’s illustrates the point that I made here about retailers not bothering to upgrade certain stores within their estate. Not only does the store’s frontage still feature the old, upper case logo, but its apostrophe appears to have fallen off (credit where it’s due, however, for Waterstone’s including the apostrophe in its name in the first place  – most retailers would have got rid of it long ago).

Inside it’s a similar story, with rather worn carpets and a sad looking store directory – the kind that has certain categories covered up with card, and other ones stuck on afterwards (I spotted a similar design crime in WHSmith). Surely it can’t be that hard to come up with a store directory format that is able to accommodate retailers moving stock around from floor to floor?

On the plus side, the store did have the book I wanted, and the person who served me at the till was friendly and helpful – always one of Waterstone’s strengths, in my view. Still, applying a bit of TLC to the store itself definitely wouldn’t go amiss.

HMV: Over in Waterstone’s sister store, HMV, the shop looked generally better but the customer service was less satisfactory. The first hurdle to buying something was getting around a display bin of blank CDs, pointlessly positioned directly in front of the counter. Second, I didn’t really appreciate the glaring downlighter, set above the counter, that was seemingly designed to blind (and cook) any customer that approached. Third – and most irritatingly – the person who served me spent the entire duration of the transaction continuing her conversation with a colleague, despite my best efforts to engage in friendly eye contact.

This habit of taking the customer’s money but otherwise ignoring them is one of my biggest pet hates when shopping, and HMV is by no means the only culprit. I did, at least, get a “see you later” – however, if that’s the level of customer service I can expect, seeing me later is probably unlikely.

Here’s a screenshot:

Screenshot of ES South lettings map, September 2009

At present, the only Apple Stores in the north of England are in Manchester (Trafford Centre and Arndale Centre) and at Sheffield’s Meadowhall. If it all goes through, Apple Store coming to Newcastle would therefore be a real coup for Eldon Square’s majority owners, Capital Shopping Centres (CSC).

Indeed, Apple Store and Superdry are particularly welcome additions to Eldon Square in that they are retailers new to Newcastle (though Superdry, admittedly, already has a store at Gateshead’s MetroCentre). As I noted before, with the exception of Debenhams, ES South’s early major lettings – New Look, River Island, the Arcadia brands – were all relocations from existing pitches in Eldon Square. Back in June, this lack of new names led the retail industry journal Retail Week to devote an in-depth – if perhaps overly negative – article to what they described as CSC’s “hollow victory”.

However, this latest news on lettings begins to suggest a better balance between old and new names, as well as indicating that there are only six of the 25 new units left to fill. This raises the prospect that ES South could, when it opens next spring, be more or less fully let – a remarkable achievement given the present economic climate. The real test, however, will be ensuring that the large and prominent units being vacated by New Look, River Island, Topshop, et al do not stay empty for long.

Credit where it’s due to patrickratcliff at the SkyscraperCity forums for spotting this interesting new development!

Former Woolworths, Redcar (17 Sep 2009)

Stop one is High Street in Redcar, where the former Woolworths store has recently become a branch of the Yorkshire Trading Company. As always seems to be the case with old Woolies stores, it still looks and feels much like a Woolworths inside, and appears to sell a similar range of goods – homewares, gardening products, confectionery, and the like. However, when I visited there seemed to be a lot of empty shelf space left to fill, with some sections of the store not yet stocked at all. The shop’s highlight, however, is its surprising yet lovely view out to the sea from its back door – presumably something that few old Woolworths stores can boast.

Next stop is Middlesbrough, where the Woolies branch in the town’s Hillstreet Shopping Centre is now occupied by another discount variety retailer, Waremart.

Former Hillstreet Woolworths, Middlesbrough (17 Sep 2009)

At 32,500 sq ft, this is another huge store, and again it felt to me that the stock was spread rather thinly to fill the space. However, unlike the YTC shop in Redcar – which has reportedly signed a 15-year lease for the property, and has an air of permanence – Waremart has only, as yet, taken a temporary lease for the Middlesbrough site. Though the mallside fascia is pretty smart, the shop’s lack of permanence does comes across in its ‘pile it high’ instore feel. The fact that the Woolworths signs facing the service yard are still in place (below) is also a bit of a giveaway!

Old Woolworths sign at the back of Waremart in Middlesbrough (17 Sep 2009)

Niggles aside, the Woolies stores in Redcar and Middlesbrough do at least have the benefit of being reoccupied – which is more than any of the others I saw today. The old Woolworths at the third port of call – the Castlegate Shopping Centre in Stockton-on-Tees High Street – is decidely empty, with apparently little sign of anything happening. The same is true of the fourth stop, at Hartlepool’s Middleton Grange, where the two-storey former Woolies really leaves a big hole in the middle of the mall.

Former Woolworths, Stockton-on-Tees (17 Sep 2009)

Former Middleton Grange Woolworths, Hartlepool (17 Sep 2009)

The next call – at Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland – is a bit of a cheat, given that it’s a Woolworths passed only on the bus, without actually stopping. However, I did have a wander round Houghton-le-Spring less than a week ago, so it seems only fair to count it as Woolies number five. With its broken and boarded up first floor windows, this store is looking rather a mess - again, however, there appears to be no sign of anything imminent happening.

Former Woolworths in Houghton-le-Spring (11 Sep 2009)

The sixth and final stop is back home in Gateshead.

Former Woolworths, Gateshead town centre (17 Sep 2009)

If you were being uncharitable, you might claim that an empty shop is more in keeping with Gateshead town centre than an occupied one, given the unusually high rate of voids – a reported 60%. However, it’s difficult to judge how Gateshead is really faring given that a huge chunk of the town centre is currently being demolished as part of the Trinity Square redevelopment. There are positive signs, though – an independent ladies’ fashion shop has opened in the prominent former Leveys site opposite the bus station, while a pawnbroker is due to open in the corner unit of the former Co-op department store this coming Saturday… However, it’s difficult to see much happening with the Woolies site while the town centre is in redevelopment flux, unless Tesco chooses it for its temporary store over the smaller (but already acquired) old Kwik Save premises down the road.

So, what does all this show? Certainly, it seems to mirror the UK picture in so far as a majority of former Woolworths stores remain empty. Similarly, it also echoes the way that many of those Woolworths that have been taken over are now occupied by value variety retailers – ironically, a niche that Woolworths could and should, in different circumstances, have carved for itself.

Perhaps most importantly, it reminds us – if a reminder were needed – of just how ubiquitous Woolworths was in our high streets and shopping centres, and the gap that has been left by its departure; a gap that, as yet, has only been partially filled.

Update - 14 October 2009: It looks like the store in Stockton has now been taken over by B&M Bargains.

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 those same products that can now be found in Poundstretcher.

Even before this interesting twist, I’ve always thought that Poundstretcher – aka Instore – has a great deal in common with Woolworths. Beyond the obvious fact that both have similar product ranges (homewares, confectionary, gardening, Christmas decorations and the like) Poundstretcher has recently had a frustrating Woolworths-style habit of underperforming, even when the economic climate has suggested that a price-focused retailer should be doing well.

Another common feature is that Poundstretcher, like Woolies before it, seems to struggle to offer a consistent customer experience. While some Poundstretcher stores, such as Gateshead’s Team Valley superstore, are spacious and well organised, the smaller branches, like that in Hexham, often seem tired and cluttered.

A third shared attribute – and one where Poundstretcher may even trump Woolies – is in failing to build an understandable and meaningful brand. Since 2005, the business has had an identity crisis. First it began to rebrand its Poundstretcher estate under the new Instore fascia; then, in 2006, decided instead to trade under both names; and now plans to scrap Instore all together, rebranding all those stores back to Poundstretcher. Combine this with Poundstretcher having at least three different logos in active use, and there’s no wonder that shoppers should be confused about what, if anything, the retailer and its brand stand for.

Recent announcements suggest that trading at Poundstretcher has picked up, but that – ominously – “the board does not regard this as indicative of a turnaround in the company’s overall situation”. Woolworths may be gone from the high street – if not from the shelves of Poundstretcher – but as value competitors such as Home Bargains, B&M Bargains and Poundland expand aggressively to fill the gap left by Woolies, Poundstretcher will need to work hard to build a truly distinctive offer and brand.

Co-op Department Store, Great Yarmouth, prior to Vergo Retail's takeover. Photograph by Stephen McKay

In the last couple of weeks, one interesting news story that has been easy to miss is the takeover of the East of England Co-op’s department store business by Vergo Retail.

Vergo Retail, as you may be aware, is the Liverpool-based operation headed by David Thompson that, in 2007, rescued Lewis’s of Liverpool, Joplings of Sunderland and Robbs of Hexham from the brink of closure after Owen Owen, the previous owner, had gone into administration.

Reports suggest that Vergo Retail has been doing rather well since then. Certainly, the business has been performing well enough to snap up the non-food operation of the Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society (PSWCS) in February this year, including the Derrys department store in Plymouth and four additional Homemaker stores in Devon and Cornwall; and well enough to double the size of the business again, just a couple of weeks ago, with the acquisition of twelve East of England Co-op shops. This latest acquisition includes department stores in Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Clacton-on-Sea and Great Yarmouth, as well as six home stores in Felixstowe, Stowmarket, Clacton, Stanway, Dovercourt and Witham, and a standalone jewellery store in Colchester.

These developments are notable for various reasons, not least in being illustrative of the extent to which the UK’s consumer co-operative movement as a whole has recently been seeking to exit the non-food sector. A critical milestone in this respect was the Co-operative Group’s decision, in 2005, to close or sell its 36 department stores; here in the North East, this resulted in the closure of landmark stores in Gateshead, Newcastle, Chester-le-Street and elsewhere, while a few others – including Bishop Auckland, Blyth and (briefly) Berwick-upon-Tweed – became part of Anglia Regional Co-operative Society’s Westgate Department Stores business.

Co-op department store, Tamworth

The impact of the Co-operative Group’s exit from department stores has been significant. First, it has created challenges for those (dwindling number of) independent co-operative societies that remain – such as East of England and, in my parents’ home town, Tamworth Co-op – requiring them to source new suppliers and renogotiate with existing ones, while having to work increasingly hard to maintain gross margins. Second, it has meant that for any societies seeking to merge with the larger Co-operative Group – such as United Co-op in 2007, and PSWCS in 2009 – prior disposal or closure of their department stores has essentially been a prerequisite.

Vergo Retail’s recent moves are therefore significant in that they seem to offer unloved and unwanted Co-op department stores a lifeline - as non-Co-op department stores. In the east of England, there can be little doubt that many of the now-saved stores would have closed had Vergo not stepped in - yet they are all shops that have a loyal clientele; that perform an important function within their respective communities; and that, with some dynamic management and a little investment, could once again be highly successful. Indeed, as Vergo expands its empire, its ability to secure improved supplier terms – and offer better deals to customers – will be enhanced; the very opposite situation to that faced by the few remaining co-operatives with non-food interests.

What is interesting, from a historical point of view, is that I can think of no precedent where Co-op department stores have been acquired, as going concerns, by a non-co-operative retailer; rather, if you were to go back to the 1950s and earlier you would see the process happening in reverse, with independent department stores - such as Newcastle’s Henry A Murton’s in Grainger Street – being acquired by local co-ops.

Vergo Retail's established Robbs of Hexham store

Going forward, much will depend of course on whether Vergo can successfully turn around the mostly loss-making stores that it has acquired; however, the company’s apparent success in reinvigorating Lewis’s, Joplings and Robbs (no-one can forget the sad, plundered interior of Robbs in the days leading up to its aborted closure) bodes well. For me, though, the burning question – and one that I cannot find either asked or answered anywhere else – is how will Vergo rebrand its newly acquired stores in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex? After all, a store that is no longer a co-operative can barely be called a ‘Co-op Department Store’.

It will be interesting to see whether Vergo comes up with some locally-inspired names, or whether – in House of Fraser style – it seeks to bring some brand consistency to its growing portfolio. Lewis’s of Clacton, anyone?

Thank you to Stephen McKay for the use of the photograph of Great Yarmouth’s Co-op (now Vergo) department store, which is © Copyright Stephen McKay and licensed for re-use under the Creative Commons Licence.