Like many others braving the latest winter snowfall, I spent last weekend hoping to finish off my Christmas shopping. Armed with a pair of sturdy boots and lots of layers, shopping list firmly clutched in hand, I was specifically searching for a particular gift for a beloved 10 year old.
After spending an hour or so trying several different high street stores, such as Debenhams, Argos and WH Smith in Preston in an attempt to locate and purchase the item, I suddenly thought, I know where I will be able to get it……Woolworths! Nano-seconds later and with a sense of real disappointment, I remembered of course that Woolworths doesn’t exist any more, at least not on the high street.
In early January 2009, one of the staple shopping experiences connected to Christmas, Woolworths, closed the remainder of it’s 200 stores. With debts of £385 million and job losses for 30,000 permanent and casual workers, some of whom had worked there for 20 years, the collapse of Woolworths was a sad end to an era on the British high street.
Everyone knew someone who had or did work at Woolworths, for some it was their first experience of employment and their first steps to independence.
Up until that point, a visit to one of it’s brightly lit stores with it’s “no apology” random style of product presentation, was an essential part of the shopping experience and even more so, was the expectation that Woolworths would stock what you needed.
You might not know what lay in wait beyond the ubiquitous “pick and mix”, wrapping paper, cards and cut-price CD’s, but you knew that with a five minute trawl up and down the heavily laden shelves, you would probably find what you went in for and more. This role of Jack of all trades but apparent master of none was highlighted by many as the very reason for Woolworths’ collapse (James Clarke, BBC News) along with some commentators describing it at the time as, “outmoded” and “uneconomic” yet, as we all knew, the store was a godsend to the people of a small town with limited transport and resources.
Interestingly, the closure of Woolworths did not warrant too much consideration at the time for Lord Mandelson, the then business secretary who had nothing to offer over Woolworth’s demise, though some government ministers did lament it’s passing. Another giant of the high street, Marks and Spencers however had previously experienced their own destabilization when it was having lean times but these were addressed with firm leadership and a move upmarket. M&S continues to remain a much loved and frequented stalwart of the British high street.
Woolworths does still exist with a somewhat faded and feeble online presence, diluted and diminished amongst the results of search engines and price comparison websites but it’s not the same experience. Online shopping absolutely has a lot to offer (especially at this time of year and it comfortingly negates the effort of lugging all your heavy bags along the street and across the car park!) but for me, I like to “try before I buy”.
I want the experience of holding and turning over in my hand and reading the packaging of something tangible. Maybe that’s somewhat antiquated, like Woolworths was accused of being but I, like many enjoyed the experience of browsing amongst it’s shelves, always being mildly surprised at what was around the corner and always purchasing more than I went in for. Peter Preston (Guardian, December 2008) stated that the for the essence of retailing, the point about brands is to chop and change with the occasional “cull”necessary to create something fresh and innovative.
There’s something in that I suppose but then I wonder how long it will actually be before high street stores like BHS and M&S are pummelled by Primark, Homebargains and Matalan and we lose the personal touches like actually being able to find someone to address your query about whether they stock ladies tights in magenta!
Woolworths, like other upmarket stores was always bigger than what graced it’s shelves. We liked the hop-potch chaos of it’s window dressing, we liked the fact that it catered for practically every need and we felt proud of it’s history and tradition.
For me, Christmas shopping without Woolworths still feels like you forgot the sprouts for Christmas lunch. Not everyone likes or wants them but they are still an integral part of the Christmas tradition.
Debbie Lewis is a Customer Support Executive at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
