Soon-to-be Heron Foods, Wallsend (15 Nov 2011)

After much speculation, family-owned frozen food specialist Heron Foods has revealed itself as the new occupant of Wallsend’s former Woolworths store.

Following my visit two months ago, I reported that the property at 2-4 High Street East – vacant since the shortlived Well Worth It moved out – had gained a ‘let agreed’ sign. Then, by a fortnight ago, the shutters had been painted blue and the Well Worth It signage removed, revealing traces of old Woolworths lettering underneath.

Former Woolworths, Wallsend (22 Sep 2011)

Former Woolworths, Wallsend (4 Nov 2011)

Now, following a helpful Twitter tip-off from @waiteIT, I was able to pay a return visit to see the store’s new Heron Foods signage in place. It’s just a coincidence, of course, but the building’s blue and yellow cladding is a much better match for Heron Foods’ corporate colours than it ever was for Woolworths’.

When I visited, there was no indication on site of when the store would open, and the publicity-shy retailer’s web presence – just an ‘under construction’ page – means that information on Heron Foods and its 160+ (and growing) stores can be hard to come by. However, one quick call to the head office number and I was able to find out that the Wallsend store is set to open this coming Monday, 21 November.

Heron Foods website (17 Nov 2011)

The reuse of any former Woolworths is good news, but the arrival of a new supermarket on Wallsend High Street makes the story doubly significant. As I’ve noted before, Wallsend town centre was dealt a blow when the Co-op supermarket closed in 2009, and Morrisons – who had bought the site – aborted plans to open in its place. The recent conversion of the town’s Netto to Asda has partly helped to plug the gap, but its location, in Hadrian Road, means that there are limited footfall benefits for the High Street proper.

With the planned redevelopment of the Forum shopping centre – including a new, large supermarket – not expected to complete until at least 2013, Heron Foods’ move onto Wallsend High Street is a canny one. Its value offer – increasingly featuring dry as well as frozen goods – is likely to appeal to cost-conscious local shoppers, while the decent-sized ex-Woolies store is big enough to feature a wide product range.

The retailer will surely be hoping that by the time any new competitor opens, Wallsend’s shoppers have already got themselves into the Heron habit.

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 in retail use. While Poundland has occupied its part of the building since 2009, Store Twenty One’s portion had previously remained empty since Woolworths’ 2008 collapse.

I happened to be passing by yesterday, when the finishing touches were being applied to the store’s interior. As with the North East’s other ex-Woolies Store Twenty One shops – in Stanley, Houghton-le-Spring, Jarrow and the original (pre-1955) Woolworths site in Redcar – the store’s shopfront and fitout, inside and out, is of a very high quality. All it needs now, as I’ve observed before, is for the business to start making a profit.

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

Elsewhere on Tyneside yesterday, I spotted positive developments at two other local ex-Woolworths sites. Regular readers will recall that the former Woolworths at 63 Shields Road in Byker (#276) closed on 1 June 1985, and then housed painting and decorating retailer Decorflair until the start of this year.

Former Woolworths (now YMCA), Byker (22 Sep 2011)

Until yesterday I’d never seen the building without its shutters down, so I was pleased to see it now open again and housing a YMCA charity shop. As always, the black granite stall riser of the typical 1960s Woolworths shopfront is present and correct, despite the property not having housed a Woolies branch for over a quarter of a century.

Former Woolworths (now YMCA), Byker (22 Sep 2011)

Inside, the shopfloor features some surprisingly ornate wrought iron columns, which suggests that the property is older than its rather featureless exterior would imply.

The store is also very spacious, and it’s easy to see how it would have made an impressive Woolworths when it moved there, from its old premises at nos. 47-49, sometime around 1960 – a time when Shields Road was still one of the city’s prime retail destinations. Today, a combination of independents and multiples (such as Morrisons, Wilkinson, Ethel Austin, Boots and Iceland) ensure that Shields Road still performs an important function locally, but the days of it attracting shoppers from across the city are surely gone.

Against this backdrop of the street’s illustrious past, the arrival of yet another charity shop is perhaps nothing to get too excited about, but at least it brings the building back into use while the lease continues to be marketed.

Former Woolworths and Well Worth It, Wallsend (22 Sep 2011)

Meanwhile, down the road in Wallsend, the former Woolworths (#351) and shortlived Well Worth It store at 2-4 High Street East has gained a ‘let agreed’ sign since I last passed by six weeks ago, suggesting that a new occupant is imminent.

I can’t find any reference to who might be taking the site over, and there’s no planning application as yet – always a good source of early information, given the need for retailers to obtain advertisement consent whenever they wish to erect new signage.

I note, however, that an advertisement has gone live this evening for a Store Manager for an unspecified ”Tyne & Wear” branch of Store Twenty One. Could the expanding fashion retailer be about to take over yet another North East ex-Woolies site, as I mooted last month? If it is, you heard it here first…

St Clare's Hospice shop, Jarrow (8 Aug 2011)

While Store Twenty One is about to take over the unoccupied part of South Shields’ former Woolies, the ex-Woolworths in Jarrow – already part-occupied by Store Twenty One – has gained a new tenant for its own vacant section.

As I reported back in November, Jarrow’s old Woolworths has been divided in two, with Store Twenty One taking the largest portion (4,112 sq ft) facing the Viking Centre’s bustling Bede Precinct. In turn, what used to be the back half of Woolies, facing the much quieter Grange Road, has been split into two further shops, totalling 3,175 sq ft. The right-hand unit, empty when I last visited (below), has now been taken over by a shop for the local St Clare’s Hospice, an independent charity that provides specialist palliative care to adults living south of the Tyne.

Grange Road frontage of former Woolworths, Jarrow (10 Nov 2010)

Monday was the first time I’d seen the unit without its shutters down, and I was pleased to see all the giveaway signs of it being an ex-Woolies, with the distinctive metal-framed shopfront and black granite stall riser. Store Twenty One, of course, has installed an entirely new shopfront on its part of the building (below), meaning that the unit’s past as a Woolworths is much less obvious from the Bede Precinct side.

Store Twenty One, Jarrow (24 Jul 2010)

Before - the former Woolworths, Jarrow (16 Dec 2009)

While the carved-up former Woolworths sites in South Shields and Jarrow inch towards full occupancy, the old Woolies in North Shields looks, sadly, to be back on the market. The well-stocked and useful MIS Wallcoverings & Textiles Superstore (formerly Cramlington Textiles) in Saville Street West, which I first visited at the end of 2009, continues to trade, but with a ‘for sale or to let’ sign above the ground-floor frontage.

MIS store (former Woolworths), North Shields (8 Aug 2011)

Marketed by local property consultants A T Retail, the particulars confirm that the 5,619 sq ft unit is being offered either for lease or for sale “with vacant possession”, though there’s currently no visible sign – other than the ‘for sale’ board – of the MIS store closing down.

Former Burton, North Shields (18 Jun 2010)

The building is both attractive and a good size, but I suspect its slightly off-centre location may be the biggest hurdle to finding a new occupant. The presence of a long-vacated and much-altered Burton’s building opposite suggests that Saville Street West was once much more of a retail thoroughfare than it is now – today, much of the street is occupied by charity shops, convenience stores and empty units, as well as a couple of disused pubs. With a bit of luck, Asda’s new store on the current Netto site in Saville Street, barely 100 metres away, might help to build footfall in the vicinity and stem the current decline.

Former Woolworths and Well Worth It, Wallsend (8 Aug 2011)

Along the river, another North Tyneside town that is looking forward to the conversion of its Netto into Asda is Wallsend. Unfortunately, the Hadrian Road supermarket is a little too far from the High Street to have much positive impact on the town’s main retail centre, but the prominent vacant Woolworths site – following a brief and unsuccessful incarnation as Well Worth It – is a potent symbol of Wallsend’s current travails, stemming at least in part from Morrisons’ failure to open its promised store on the acquired Co-op supermarket site.

Plaster Piece closing down, Wallsend (8 Aug 2011)

That has already left a big hole in the town’s Forum Shopping Centre for more than two years, which isn’t set to be filled until a planned redevelopment completes at the end of 2013. Visiting Wallsend on Monday, I spotted at least two more stores in ‘closing down’ mode, including the Plaster Piece fireplace showroom, next to the old Woolworths in Station Road, and a branch of the collapsed fashion and homewares retailer Ethel Austin (aka Life & Style).

Ethel Austin closing down, Wallsend (8 Aug 2011)

Wallsend has some decent and popular retailers, both independent and multiple, but it really could do with some new stores – such as the Store Twenty Ones and B&M Bargains of the world, as well as another reasonably priced food store – to give the town centre a much-needed boost of both morale and footfall.

The modern centre promised for 2013 looks good; the danger in the meantime, however, is that indie closures and further multiples collapsing will increasingly force Wallsend’s shoppers to look elsewhere.

Former Woolworths (now WHSmith), Pinner, 1 May 2011. Photograph by Bryan Roberts

Many thanks to Bryan Roberts from Kantar Retail iQ, who let me know via Twitter that the old Woolworths in Pinner, north west London, has recently reopened as a branch of WHSmith.

Regular readers may recall that I visited Pinner nearly a year ago, when the old Woolies premises in Bridge Street were then occupied by Poundstar. Just as Poundstar made do with the existing Woolworths shopfront, it looks like WHSmith has similarly done little more – at least on the outside – than add its own signage to the current fascia.

Former Woolworths in Pinner, as Poundstar (14 May 2010)

With WHSmith’s opening, Pinner’s joins the growing number of ex-Woolies locations that are already on to their second occupant since the collapse of Woolworths in 2008. In some places – such as Warrington – this is simply the result of the original post-Woolies occupant going out of business, and another retailer coming in to fill the void.

Elsewhere, however, there are some interesting examples of discount retailers in ex-Woolies premises, more than likely on short-term leases, being replaced by (relatively) more upmarket or better-known names. Waitrose taking over the Alworths site in Amersham is an obvious example, as is Denmark Hill’s 99p Stores being replaced by Peacocks.

Is it just coincidence or local circumstances? An illustration of certain retailers’ relative success or evolving property requirements? Or perhaps a sign of confidence in the retail property market as big names target locations that they may have passed by a couple of years earlier? Whatever the reason, it’s fair to say that Pinner was reasonably quiet on the Friday morning when I visited last year, so hopefully WHSmith’s arrival provides a welcome boost to footfall in a retail centre that, arguably, was never the most obvious location for a pound shop.

One of Pinner’s charms is that it manages to combine a lovely historic centre with a reasonably strong retail and leisure offer. I knew next to nothing about the place before stepping off the train last year, but I was really impressed by the gorgeous High Street, lined with timber-framed buildings housing bars and independent shops.

High Street, Pinner (14 May 2010)

Tucked behind the High Street, there’s also an M&S Simply Food and a good-sized Sainsbury’s, both accessed via discreet archways and reasonably well integrated with the rest of the shopping centre.

Sainsbury's, Pinner (14 May 2010)

My general view is that places like Pinner benefit from having a healthy mix of big-name stores and interesting independents, allowing shoppers to meet most of their everyday needs while maintaining a retail centre that is distinctive and characterful.

Of course, not everyone subscribes to that view. Take those superstores away, and the romantic vision is that shoppers will revert to old-fashioned shopping habits, providing an automatic boost for the local butcher and greengrocer. Here in the North East, however, the example of Wallsend – a town that has been without its main supermarket for the last two years – reminds us that shoppers are just as capable of taking their business to the nearest Morrisons or Tesco down the road.

With this in mind, I was disappointed, but not surprised, to read that WHSmith’s arrival in Pinner has apparently provoked a “backlash” from local independent shopkeepers. Of course, local newspapers thrive on this kind of drama, and we shouldn’t believe everything we read in them. However, the “local indies object to big-name newcomer” story is wearily familiar, and often based on the flimsiest of premises.

Harrow Observer article about "WHSmith backlash"

The article in the Harrow Observer last month reported that “WHSmith is facing a backlash from independent traders in Pinner who fear the stationery giant will steal their customers”, and revealed that “a group of shops selling cards, stationery, books and printing services have written a joint letter to WHSmith bosses over their fears that independent shops like theirs will be undercut.”

On several counts this argument is bizarre. It ignores the fact that some of WHSmith’s ranges – such as stationery and newspapers – are items that Woolworths used to sell from that site without anyone seemingly complaining. Equally, anyone who’s recently been to a branch of Smith’s will recognise that its upmarket (or, some might say, overpriced) cards compete more with Paperchase or Clinton’s than with Card Factory or local independents.

What I find most depressing about this kind of article, however, is the apparent complacency and sense of blame among some indie retailers – the view that “we’ve been here forever, and how dare the big boys come in, undercut us, and nick our customers” – and the implication that everything revolves around price. What about celebrating independents’ potential to offer superlative customer service? Providing a friendly, personal touch and superb specialist knowledge that the big chains simply can’t match?

In the modern world of retailing, no retail business has – or should have – a God-given right to thrive. Success needs to be earnt. Unfortunately, alongside all the brilliant and innovative independent retailers out there, there are still too many that haven’t invested enough in brightening up dismal store interiors, in showcasing product effectively, or in offering more-than-perfunctory customer service. In short, these are shops that have coasted along, reliant on a relatively captive audience, and whose limitations are exposed when a big chain opens up down the road.

Instead of grumbling, Pinner’s indie retailers should therefore be seizing upon the opportunity afforded by WHSmith’s arrival.

Celebrate the fact that a major name has made an investment in your retail centre, bringing a vacated shop unit back into use.

Assuming local footfall increases, tap into this. Bring more customers into your own shop by offering the products that they want, wrapped up with a sense of theatre and top-notch customer service that makes people feel good and want to come back.

But, above all, don’t ask them at the till if they’d like to buy some cheap chocolate.

Former Woolworths, South Shields (10 Nov 2010)

While out and about on my recent travels, I’ve revisited – often just in passing – some of the former Tyneside Woolies sites that I’ve blogged about in the past. Though the number of empty sites is now dwindling, there are still a few interesting updates to report upon.

There’s no apparent movement on the empty half of South Shields’ former Woolworths (#104), while the Wallsend store (#351) – previously blogged about here – is now empty again. The premises reopened, to much fanfare, as Well Worth It back in October 2009, but the business has closed down after less than a year.

Former Woolworths and Well Worth It, Wallsend (10 Nov 2010)

Station Road frontage of former Wallsend Woolworths (10 Nov 2010)

I can’t help thinking that Wallsend’s supermarket travails may have impacted upon Well Worth It’s viability, given that the town centre is still without a major supermarket after the Co-op in the nearby Forum Shopping Centre closed and Morrisons failed (as yet) to open in its place.

Unfortunately, the Wallsend store is one that the Co-operative Group disposed of to Morrisons voluntarily, rather than being one of the 133 shops that it was required to divest following its takeover of Somerfield. Had the latter been the case, one imagines that the OFT would have had something to say about a two-year hiatus between one store closing and its approved replacement opening. Meanwhile, campaigners are rightly putting pressure on both Morrisons and North Tyneside Council to bring the supermarket back into use.

Vacated Co-op site, Wallsend (10 Nov 2010)

Wallsend’s Woolworths lives on, incidentally, in the vaguely amusing artwork at Wallsend Metro station, where panels – predating Woolies’ demise – feature photographs of apparently familiar local scenes. The twist is that all the wording in the photographs – including the Woolies fascia – has been translated into Latin, as a play on Wallsend’s Roman heritage.

Woolworths panel at Wallsend Metro station (10 Nov 2010)

One location with a bit more success Woolies-wise – and with an already thriving Morrisons – is Jarrow, where Store Twenty One moved into part of the town’s former Woolworths store (#434), facing Bede Precinct, back in July. Just as in Stanley, Store Twenty One has installed a modern and attractive shopfront that greatly improves the shop’s external appearance, as well as undertaking a comprehensive revamp of the interior.

Before - the former Woolworths, Jarrow (16 Dec 2009)

After - Store Twenty One, Jarrow (24 Jul 2010)

With Store Twenty One taking only 4,112 sq ft of the old Woolies site (the full Bede Precinct frontage and about half the store’s depth), the remaining 3,175 sq ft portion of the store, facing Grange Road, remains to let.

Grange Road frontage of former Woolworths, Jarrow (10 Nov 2010)

A 1962 shot in Paul Perry’s fascinating Jarrow Through Time book shows the Woolworths frontage to Grange Road, with the building that housed it looking only slightly different to how it does today. A couple of doors away, Perry’s photo shows that the premises which until recently housed the Discount Store 24 supermarket were formerly Fine Fare – like Woolworths, another once familiar but now defunct high street name.

Discount Store 24 (now closed), previously Fine Fare, Jarrow (24 Jul 2010)

Final stop for now is North Shields, where Cramlington Textiles Superstore was already open on the former Woolies site (#426) when I visited nearly a year ago.

Saville Street with MIS store, North Shields (10 Nov 2010)

It’s still there, but has had a minor change of name to MIS Wallcoverings & Textiles Superstore. Perhaps shoppers were perplexed by a shop in North Shields having Cramlington in its name? Still, the change makes some sense given the wide range of paint and wallpaper, as well as textiles, that I remarked upon after my last visit.

Old postcard showing the same view in about 1930

Perhaps more interesting, however, is this old c.1930 postcard that I discovered, showing an almost identical view to the one above. The tall building in the middle with the arched window is instantly recognisable in both shots, but look closely at the Woolworths building… between 1930 and now, what on earth has happened to the property’s second floor? It’s there in the earlier shot, but missing today.

Perhaps someone out there can tell us what us happened to it? Whatever the reason, it does begin to explain the building’s slightly curious flat roof, which has always seemed rather at odds with its quite elegant (if truncated) façade.

Alworths fascia

Following on from my blog post about Alworths opening in the Clackmannanshire town of Alloa, it has now been confirmed that the new store will open this week, on Wednesday 21 July. The site, at 49 Shillinghill, was occupied by Ethel Austin, prior to that retailer’s collapse earlier this year. 

Quoting the MD Andy Latham, Alworths’ press release about the store opening highlights the point made in my earlier blog about it being the first store in the chain not to be located in an ex-Woolworths site: 

“Opening our tenth store will be a significant milestone for us. We’ve always maintained that we were not limiting our store search to just ex-Woolies sites… Our priority, as always, is to find good sites in traditional market towns and to be a local department store on the high street.” 

Like the nine other Alworths stores to date, the Alloa shop will stock “a mix of branded toys, sweets, homeware, stationery, entertainment products, seasonal goods and garden items”, as well as offering “a large selection of pic ‘n’ mix along with party accessories, cards and wrap.”

Alworths in Amersham (14 May 2010)

Given a blank canvas rather than the shell of a former Woolies, it will be interesting to see how the interior of the Alloa Alworths turn out.

This picks up on the point I made in my earlier review of the Amersham store, following my visit back in May, when I remarked that “as the Alworths chain expands further – and particularly if it starts taking over shops that were not formerly Woolworths – it will be interesting to see how it develops its own, more confident store interior style.”

The Alloa store now gives Alworths that opportunity to do something different and distinctive with its shopfit, defining it as a modern retailer with its own identity and vision, rather than one that some might perceive as harking back to the past.  

The news release also confirms Alworths’ plans to open a further seven stores in Scotland “over time”, and its intention to have 22 sites across the UK by the end of 2010. With the chain set to have ten stores by the end of July, it suggests that new shops will be opening at the rate of two or three a month for the rest of the year – a  similar rate of expansion, in fact, to when Woolworths was at the height of its growth in the 1920s.

We already know where the 11th store will be, and have a strong hint as to the location of the 12th. The arrival of a new Alworths in Hertford was reported a few days ago in the local press, with the customary job ad on the Peopletime website giving an opening date of August. The store will occupy the former Woolworths in Maidenhead Street – pictured here in happier times – which until this month housed a Well Worth It store. The latter is apparently moving to the nearby town of Hoddesdon instead, but is not, as far as I can tell, any relation to the Wallsend shop of the same name.

Former Woolworths, Tiverton (22 June 2009). Photograph by Lewis Clarke

Though there is no official confirmation yet, the 12th Alworths will, reportedly, be in Tiverton in Devon. Many thanks to the eagle-eyed John, who let me know that “according to the BT Phone Book, [Alworths] have had the telephone put on at the old Woolworths premises in Fore St, Tiverton, Devon.”

Alworths Tiverton - revealed via the Phone Book

Sure enough, a quick search of BT’s online Phone Book brings up details of the yet-to-be-announced Tiverton store. Presumably, however, no-one will be there to answer the phone for a few weeks yet…

Thank you to Lewis Clarke for the shot of Woolworths in Tiverton, which is © Copyright Lewis Clarke, and licensed for re-use under the Creative Commons Licence.

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 handsome former Woolworths building has again been divided into two, with Heron Foods occupying half, and the other part currently empty.

Old postcard showing Ashington Woolworths (posted 1959)

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’.

Alworths in Amersham

Following in the footsteps of Dorchester’s Wellworths, Stornoway’s Wee W and even Wallsend’s Well Worth It, the latest ‘son of Woolworths’ store – Alworths – opened the doors to its second store in Amersham, Buckinghamshire yesterday.

To date, the various Woolies ‘offspring’ have  tended to be one-off, locally-driven responses to the gap that Woolworths left on particular high streets. In the case of Wellies and Wee W, the impetus has even come from former Woolies staff.

Stornoway's Wee W

Alworths also has a strong Woolies connection, in that its founder and MD, Andy Latham – hence the ‘AL-’ in Alworths – used to be Woolworths’ head of store and concessions development. Where Alworths differs from the others, however, is in embarking upon an ambitious opening programme from the very start. This makes it the first genuine retail chain to emerge from the ashes of Woolworths, though speculation remains that Clare Robertson’s much-celebrated Wellworths might expand beyond Dorchester before long.

Alworths’ inaugural store, in Didcot in Oxfordshire, opened a week ago, poignantly (and intentionally) on the 100th anniversary to the day of Woolworths first appearing on a UK high street.

Three more stores – in Evesham, Warminster^{[broken link removed]} and Wokingham – are due to open in the next fortnight, with Alworths reportedly planning to open an ambitious total of 22 stores over the next 12 months.

However, as Alworths makes its presence felt across the south of England, the obvious question is whether it can succeed where Woolworths ultimately failed. In short, is there a place in modern retailing for Alworths? And, if so, what does Shop Direct – owner of the now online-only Woolworths brand – have to say about the matter?

The industry paper Retail Week has been surprisingly sniffy about Alworths’ prospects, with editor Tim Danaher asking “what’s the point of reinventing something which failed, particularly as all the best ex-Woolies stores will now have been taken by other retailers?”, and endorsing the view of an RW reader who had argued that “The son of Woolworths already exists – it’s called Wilkinson”.

When news of the Alworths venture was first announced, RW also suggested that the new business had missed the boat – if it wanted to capitalise on the goodwill towards the old Woolies, then it was no good making its appearance ten months after Woolworths’ demise.

Admittedly, Alworths was quite a long time coming – Latham and his then business partners were talking about the idea for the business as far back as February – but I do, in this instance, think RW’s scepticism is unjustified. Here, in summary, are a few reasons why I think Alworths stands a good chance of success.

1) People want it

Though some people have questioned the point of a new Woolworths-like chain, reaction in the places where Alworths is opening seems to be largely enthusiastic. Indeed, some towns, such as Chippenham, have been clamouring to get an Alworths of their own – even to the extent of making rather patronising comments about “the people who would use” the Poundland store that is slated for the town’s former Woolworths site.

That enthusiasm is because, ten months on, many towns still do have an empty shop where their Woolies used to be, and still miss not being able to buy locally the types of products that Woolworths used to sell. Which brings us on to the fact that…

2) Alworths stores seem to be opening in sensible locations

Alworths in Didcot

Look at the list of Alworths stores announced to date – Didcot, Amersham, Evesham, Warminster and Wokingham – and it’s clear that all are relatively small market towns with a population of less than 30,000.

This seems a canny move, given that it’s in exactly these types of (usually Wilkinson-free) locations that a variety store – selling a wide range of goods that cannot be easily obtained elsewhere in the town – is likely to thrive, and where the absence of Woolworths has been most keenly felt. Which brings us on to the fact that…

3) Alworths is not Woolworths

At its time of closure, Woolworths had more than 800 shops. In a year’s time, Alworths might have 22.

Where the good bits of the Woolworths business were dragged down by its unprofitable and frankly grotty stores in other locations, Alworths has the advantage of being able to choose sites that fit the business as it is today. Furthermore, all will be clean, fresh and modern, and able to offer a much better customer environment than many Woolworths stores were able to.

For me, the size and quality of the store estate was Woolies’ biggest problem towards the end, not the product mix. Which brings us on to the fact that…

4) Alworths is not 99p Stores / Home Bargains / Poundand / B&M Bargains / The Original Factory Shop (delete as applicable)

99p Stores

One of the strengths of Woolworths was that you could pop in for a box of staples, a Lego model, a pair of pillowcases, and some wine glasses and be pretty confident that the store would have what you wanted.

While the discounters that have been snapping up old Woolies sites across the country are undoubtedly successful, and clearly have a place on the high street, there’s a difference between Woolworths’ – and now Alworths’ – range-driven offer, and those newer stores that seem to be driven instead by price.

Yes, I can drop into Poundland or Home Bargains and get some great offers – but with those stores I find it much harder than with Woolworths to know exactly what will be available from one week to the next. Which brings us on to the fact that…

5) Alworths is essentially Woolworths with a different name (but don’t tell Shop Direct that)

One of Alworths’ strengths is clearly its sense of familiarity. All its stores to date are in former Woolies locations, look rather like Woolies inside, sell similar products to Woolies, and in most cases seem to be managed and staffed by former Woolies workers. The main difference seems to be the blue and purple Alworths logo, which is a far cry from the old Woolworths red.

Beyond the Andy Latham link, there are many similarities at an operational level too – for example, Alworths’ head office staff are former Woolworths alumni, and even the signage supplier^{[broken link removed]}, stock management system and PR company^{[broken link removed]} are the ones that Woolworths used to use. The name, of course, also has a ring of recognition. Which brings us on to the fact that…

6) Alworths seems like an effective brand

One of my quibbles about the aforementioned discount chains – 99p Stores, Home Bargains, Poundand, B&M Bargains, The Original Factory Shop – is the sheer lack of imagination behind their names. They are not so much brands as a description of what they do.

One of the strengths of Woolworths was that its name had some history and meaning. In evoking the name of the chain’s founder, Frank Winfield Woolworth, it gave it a face; an identity. I think that’s why we can feel an affinity with brands like John Lewis, Boots, WHSmith, even Jessops, but don’t have the same affection for faceless (and now defunct) ones like Kwik Save, What Everyone Wants or Your More Store.

In this case, of course, there’s nobody actually called Alworth, though the ‘AL-’ for Andy Latham is a neat touch. There are real people called Alworth though, so there’s always scope (perish the thought) for Alworths to create a fictional, Hollister-style backstory to match its brand values.

On the downside, the lack of an obvious shortened version of the Alworths name, vis-a-vis Woolies and Wellies, is clearly an oversight. None of Alies, Allies or Alwies are entirely successful. Which brings us (slightly tenuously) onto the fact that…

7) Shop Direct is reportedly grumbling about what it says are the similarities between Alworths and Woolworths… but the British will always support the underdog

Alworths taking at least a sprinkling of inspiration from the former Woolworths reportedly hasn’t gone unnoticed by Shop Direct, the current owners of the online-only Woolworths brand.

It has been widely reported that Shop Direct has “fired a warning shot” over the launch of Alworths, partly driven by the fact that – interestingly – it has not ruled out bringing Woolworths back to the high street itself through a licensing arrangement.

According to Mark Newton-Jones, chief executive of Shop Direct:

We think there is an opportunity [for] a chain of stores in towns across the UK… That is even more of a reason we would defend our position… We are not going to stand by and allow that to happen, using a name and a product mix and trading off the back of the goodwill of the Woolworths business.

Presumably, Shop Direct has been irritated by headlines such as “Woolworths set to relaunch as Alworths”, “The return of ‘Woolworths’ – as Alworths” and “‘Woolworths’ set to return to the high street next month”, which have very much framed Alworths as Woolworths’ rightful successor. To be fair though, this association does, as far as I can tell, seem to have been driven by the media, rather than Alworths itself.

It is an understandable association though. Shop Direct may have bought the Woolworths name, but it seems to me that the actual Woolies heritage – and much of the affection for it – is retained in those vacated stores on our high streets and for the people who used to work there, more so than in a website that, beyonds its name, struggles to evoke the same sense of connection. If a store reopens in the same place as an old Woolworths, featuring the same staff selling very similar products, then of course people are going to feel that their old Woolies has come back in all but name.

Whether Shop Direct’s reported ‘legal letter’ leads to anything more remains to be seen, though its interesting that the company is at the same time reported as having “no issue” with Wellworths. I wonder if this is because the Wellworths brand is not a new creation, but has a previous history – entirely unrelated to Woolworths – as the name of a Northern Irish supermarket chain. That aside, there is always a danger, from a PR point of view, of a large company that is battling with an underdog stoking resentment for the very brand that it is fighting to protect.

Wellworths store in Dorchester. Photograph by Nigel Mykura

Needless to say, in summary, I wish Alworths all the best. I genuinely believe that there is a place for it, and look forward to seeing its store estate creeping northwards in due course.

As long as Alworths keeps doing what it’s doing right – and avoids the pitfalls that Woolworths fell into – there’s every reason, in my view, to think it will be a success.

Many thanks to Hamilton PR for allowing me to use the photographs of Alworths in Amersham and Didcot.