Woolworths waves farewell
Jan 6th, 2009 by Jamie Bradley
Woolworths will finally say goodbye to the British high street once and for all today, as the remaining 200 branches close their doors to shoppers for good.
On the verge of celebrating their one hundredth anniversary since opening in 1909, one of Britain’s most prominent retailers will fall just short of that milestone as any remaining stock will be offloaded to customers throughout the day.
Items such as shopping baskets, lockers and safes were even up for sale and it seems that if you can carry it; then it is yours to pick up for a bargain price, as shelves continue to empty by the minute up and down the country.
Woolies, as it was more commonly known, entered administration in November on the back of increasing debts, which amounted to an irreversible £385m.
The administrators, Deloitte, were forced to announce that Woolworths’s closure was inevitable and the only way to recoup losses was to offload all stock, at a reduced price, before further payments were due in early January.
Not only will this signify the end of an era for the retail giant, it also means that as of tomorrow 27,000 people will be officially unemployed due to the number of jobs the 807 stores up and down the country generated.
In a time of such economic downturn, this can only contribute further to the detrimental impact the credit crunch is having on people throughout Britain, with further redundant workers now without a primary source of income.
Although many shoppers will be relieved to pick up some last minute bargains and save valuable pennies to help them survive the crunch, this will only mark the beginning of the end for many other retailers currently struggling to compete with other outlets offering similar stock at discounted price in a time when profit is difficult to come by.
If the shopping industry continues to follow the trend of Woolies, then suddenly competition for economical sale prices are eliminated and we see a period of inflation where large industries are able to increase the cost of stock and the expenses of living go up further and, ultimately, less money is invested into the economy; a vicious circle of economic depression the outcome.
So, as we wave farewell to a high street favourite, it would be fair enough to say that, down the years, Woolworths has certainly been well worth it and will be sorely missed by any pic ‘n’ mix avid shoppers especially.
By Jamie Bradley
