The ongoing mystery of Byker’s (possible) former Woolies
(UPDATE: Since I wrote this post, it’s been confirmed that the A&S Discount building was indeed Byker’s original Woolworths location.) Back in January I posted a...
Read more....Author: Graham Soult
‘Shopjacket’ brings hope to Whitley Bay town centre
Given the challenges that Whitley Bay town centre has faced over the last year – with a number of high-profile retail departures – it’s been great to see...
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Bishop Auckland bustles, despite its empty Woolies
The recent focus upon all that’s been happening in Newcastle means that I haven’t had as much time as I would like to explore some other...
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Initial reactions to the new St Andrew’s Way mall at Eldon Square
I might have been busy at work at 10:30 a.m this morning, but many thousands of others evidently weren’t, judging from the crowds that attended the grand...
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Eldon Square’s St Andrew’s Way opens today (16 February 2010)!
There will be plenty of analysis of the new Eldon Square mall in Newcastle over the coming weeks, and reflection on the impact of St...
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Vergo Retail develops online presence
Google ‘Vergo Retail’, and the likelihood is that you’ll currently find Soult’s Retail View among the top few search results. Indeed, since this blog launched...
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Waitrose Hopwood Park now open!
Weekly updates on the status of Waitrose at Hopwood Park Services on the M42 have become something of a habit lately, thanks to the regular...
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Sunderland’s old Woolies – a survivor almost to the end
In an earlier post, I talked about some of the large, city centre Woolworths stores – such as the branches on Newcastle’s Northumberland Street and Sheffield’s...
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A Woolies twist to every story
Well, that’s a surprise! I’ve only just discovered that I’ve been photographing and blogging about a former Woolworths store – here, and more recently here –...
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Best brands and iron girders for new Eldon Square Republic store
With exciting mounting over the opening of Eldon Square’s St Andrew’s Way extension in less than a week’s time (10:30 on Tuesday 16 February, to be precise), it...
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Next, past and future
Following the apparent confirmation of earlier rumours about Next planning to open a new store in Newcastle’s Eldon Square shopping centre next year, it seems timely to take...
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Peacocks lined up for Newcastle’s former Zavvi
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...
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Well, that hasn’t taken Waitrose very long at all!
I’ve just received the photo above from Mark Leaver, taken on his phone last night at Welcome Break’s Hopwood Park Services on the M42. It...
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Remember Maurice Gerald at 6 Bigg Market, Newcastle?
Given my interest in both retail history and local history more generally, it’s always a pleasure when people drop me a line to share their...
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Lost in (Ethel) Austin?
Reports that value fashion retailer Ethel Austin and its sister homewares business, Au Naturale, are poised to enter administration – less than two years after both chains...
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Updates on Newcastle city centre’s new Tescos
Heavy overnight snow provided a good excuse to take a walk into Newcastle today, rather than trying to drive anywhere further afield. It was also...
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Tamworth Market: the worst street market in Britain?
Edit, 2 March 2015: This post is getting an awful lot of hits today! Be aware, however – as the date on it makes clear...
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Building work underway at Hopwood Park Waitrose
Many thanks to Mark Leaver for sending me an MMS with this photo of work underway on the new Waitrose store at Hopwood Park Services on...
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Three-storey retail tenant “secured” to replace Newcastle’s Green Market
As someone with an appetite for retail news stories, I like to occasionally visit Newcastle City Council’s planning applications website. Often, planning applications are where interesting...
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Site for sixth Alworths store announced…
…and it’s going to be in Cosham, a northern suburb of Portsmouth, Hampshire. Due to open in February, this will be the first new Alworths...
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