seamusuk
Well-known member
Hey Guys
Yup I do know its a British Institution with American Parents!
See link ......
Seamus
Yup I do know its a British Institution with American Parents!
See link ......
Seamus
A British Institution in administration :(
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JerseyMike
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2004
- Messages
- 540
I miss Woolworth's!
I hope that the UK stores don't suffer the same fate as the ones in the US, which were closed about 10 years or so ago. I miss shopping there!
Mike
I hope that the UK stores don't suffer the same fate as the ones in the US, which were closed about 10 years or so ago. I miss shopping there!
Mike
washdayisfun
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2008
- Messages
- 97
Oh No!!!!
I can't believe it! I love Woolies...Ever since I was a child ive always loved the famous woolies Pick"N"Mix.
Mark
I can't believe it! I love Woolies...Ever since I was a child ive always loved the famous woolies Pick"N"Mix.
Mark
seamusuk
Well-known member
From Christmas Past..
Hey Mark
Im guessing this may bring back memories- it sure does for me lol!!!
Seamus
Hey Mark
Im guessing this may bring back memories- it sure does for me lol!!!
Seamus
spoodles
Well-known member
It's a dump.
Good riddance!
Good riddance!
beadsobleach
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
- Messages
- 179
Visit Woolworth's Famous Luncheonette
The Woolworths in my home town was old, with creaky wood floors and high tin ceilings. It was a big deal for a kid to get a hot dog at the Luncheonette.
The Woolworths in my home town was old, with creaky wood floors and high tin ceilings. It was a big deal for a kid to get a hot dog at the Luncheonette.
seamusuk
Well-known member
Another One
No Christmas Wonderland for Woolworth(s) this year
Spoodles...
Obviously I cant tell from your BLANK profile but im guessing ur not old enough to remember these- as Mark said anyone who can remember them and who remembers the HUGE troughs of Pic N Mix should be kinda sad at the news.
Seamus
No Christmas Wonderland for Woolworth(s) this year
Spoodles...
Obviously I cant tell from your BLANK profile but im guessing ur not old enough to remember these- as Mark said anyone who can remember them and who remembers the HUGE troughs of Pic N Mix should be kinda sad at the news.
Seamus
Oh yah, the luncheonettes hotdog and better sometimes was to get a tulip sundae. Back as a kid in the 50's early 60's we had the old style Woolworth and Kresge downtown with big ceiling fans slowly turning, I always remember those. And the smell, you can never forget the Kresge or Woolworth smell. Kinda like pink elephant popcorn meets petroleum jelly.
spoodles
Well-known member
Seamus
Yes I'm old enough to remember those!
It's still a dump!
I remember our Woolies had a deli counter when I was a kid but still, I don't know why anyone would shop in Woolies these days - they are just horrible.
Yes I'm old enough to remember those!
It's still a dump!
I remember our Woolies had a deli counter when I was a kid but still, I don't know why anyone would shop in Woolies these days - they are just horrible.
Horrible is a relative word. If Woolworths is horrible, what's Walmart?
I remember growing up in southern California in the 1960's and 70's, Woolworths was one of the last vestiges of European culture left in our neighborhood -- before it entirely crumbled into a crime ridden, overcrowded shithole. It was sort of a poor man's Bullock's Wilshire, where you could shop and get a decent bite to eat inside the same building. Actually now that I remember it, I liked the food better at Woolworths -- their sandwiches were better, the portions were larger and they had like 8 or 9 flavors of Coke sodas.
Comparing then to now, it really is like a different country, even though the timespan was just 20 years. In 1965 everyone in our neighborhood left their front doors open at night. Crime was unheard of. Lawns were immaculately manicured and houses always kept up to perfection. You'd wake up every morning to the sound of milk deliveries, an hour later the Helm's Bakery truck would come and deliver breads and cakes, baked earlier that morning, right to your front door, and in the afternoon you'd wait to hear the jingles of the ice cream truck.
By the time we moved from there in 1985, you couldn't even walk in the neighborhood without substantial risk of mugging, iron gates graced the front doors of unpainted houses on dirt lawns, you couldn't shop at night because of gang warfare, all the local department stores had closed and ugly graffiti (not the artistic kind you find these days in L.A.) was everywhere.
Really makes me want to cry, and unless one is old enough to remember how it was, one can't begin to appreciate how bad it is there now.
I remember growing up in southern California in the 1960's and 70's, Woolworths was one of the last vestiges of European culture left in our neighborhood -- before it entirely crumbled into a crime ridden, overcrowded shithole. It was sort of a poor man's Bullock's Wilshire, where you could shop and get a decent bite to eat inside the same building. Actually now that I remember it, I liked the food better at Woolworths -- their sandwiches were better, the portions were larger and they had like 8 or 9 flavors of Coke sodas.
Comparing then to now, it really is like a different country, even though the timespan was just 20 years. In 1965 everyone in our neighborhood left their front doors open at night. Crime was unheard of. Lawns were immaculately manicured and houses always kept up to perfection. You'd wake up every morning to the sound of milk deliveries, an hour later the Helm's Bakery truck would come and deliver breads and cakes, baked earlier that morning, right to your front door, and in the afternoon you'd wait to hear the jingles of the ice cream truck.
By the time we moved from there in 1985, you couldn't even walk in the neighborhood without substantial risk of mugging, iron gates graced the front doors of unpainted houses on dirt lawns, you couldn't shop at night because of gang warfare, all the local department stores had closed and ugly graffiti (not the artistic kind you find these days in L.A.) was everywhere.
Really makes me want to cry, and unless one is old enough to remember how it was, one can't begin to appreciate how bad it is there now.
laundromat
Well-known member
I miss going to the 5 & 10 cent Woolworths on Eastern Avenue and miss their old Hobart top loading dishwasher!It had a round,2 sided lid and they also had balloons for those who ordered sundays or milkshakes.You'd pick one,pop it and pay anywhere from a penny to $1.50.They made the best shakes and tuna salad I ever had.Their grilled cheese wasn't bad either sold with a bowl of soup for $1.29.I HATE WALMART AND SAM'S CLUB!!!No charactor,no style,no class and very bad employees who could care less about following simple rules regarding health issues and cleanliness.I had ordered a half pound of thick sliced ham to cut into cubes for chef salad.The girl sneezed into her hands and continued to cut the meat,touching and contaminating everything.I walked away and went to speak to a manager who didn't understand a word I said.I finaly got names and sent an email receiving absolutely no response.
Kinda like pink elephant popcorn meets petroleum jelly.
Oh, you nailed it! I miss Woolworth's. I miss the sound of the poor caged parakeets in the back. It was a good wholesome American institution, but, as all must, turned to dust.
Oh, you nailed it! I miss Woolworth's. I miss the sound of the poor caged parakeets in the back. It was a good wholesome American institution, but, as all must, turned to dust.
beadsobleach
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
- Messages
- 179
Turtles
And those little green turtles with the plastic bowl with the palm tree in it. They got banned I believe.
And those little green turtles with the plastic bowl with the palm tree in it. They got banned I believe.
danemodsandy
Well-known member
Mike:
"And those little green turtles with the plastic bowl with the palm tree in it. They got banned I believe."
Yep, turtles can carry salmonella. While a good pet store that knows what it's doing can have healthy stock, Woolworth's just didn't have the staff or resources to deal with the problem.
Spoodles:
While you may not like Woolworth's, I hope you're thinking of all the people who could lose badly-needed jobs in the middle of a rotten economic downturn. Jobs need to be saved to the extent possible, everywhere. Remember it's your taxes that pay for someone else's dole!
"And those little green turtles with the plastic bowl with the palm tree in it. They got banned I believe."
Yep, turtles can carry salmonella. While a good pet store that knows what it's doing can have healthy stock, Woolworth's just didn't have the staff or resources to deal with the problem.
Spoodles:
While you may not like Woolworth's, I hope you're thinking of all the people who could lose badly-needed jobs in the middle of a rotten economic downturn. Jobs need to be saved to the extent possible, everywhere. Remember it's your taxes that pay for someone else's dole!
Sad that Woolworths in US have gone and are on the skids in UK.
In Australia they are very successful, perhaps here they have evolved better to suit current tastes. They are the most popular supermarket chain in the country (their main rival, Coles, is almost as big); they own a discount store chain, Big W, which is a rival to K Mart; and they own Dick Smith Electronics, the nations biggest electronics retailer, which started out as a electronics component supplier like Tandy/Radio Shack (they now own Tandy in AU) but have added electronic equipment like stereos and TVs, and now are huge in computers and electronic offfice equipment. They also own several chains of liquor stores, and have a joint venture with Caltex for petrol (gasoline) stations.
This link shows Woolies' history in AU:
Chris
In Australia they are very successful, perhaps here they have evolved better to suit current tastes. They are the most popular supermarket chain in the country (their main rival, Coles, is almost as big); they own a discount store chain, Big W, which is a rival to K Mart; and they own Dick Smith Electronics, the nations biggest electronics retailer, which started out as a electronics component supplier like Tandy/Radio Shack (they now own Tandy in AU) but have added electronic equipment like stereos and TVs, and now are huge in computers and electronic offfice equipment. They also own several chains of liquor stores, and have a joint venture with Caltex for petrol (gasoline) stations.
This link shows Woolies' history in AU:
Chris
Here is their spread of retail brands (more than I realized...)
You can click on each brand icon to go to their individual websites.
Safeway is the brand name for Woolworths supermarkets in Victoria (my State). Safeway and Woolies used to be rivals, Safeway had by far the largest market share in Vic and Woolworths bought them out. All Woolworths stores in Vic were re-branded to Safeway, even though Woolies is the parent company, as Safeway had such a good reputation. Only now, about 20 years after the takeover, they are finally going to retire the Safeway name and rebrand them all as Woolworths.
Chris.
You can click on each brand icon to go to their individual websites.
Safeway is the brand name for Woolworths supermarkets in Victoria (my State). Safeway and Woolies used to be rivals, Safeway had by far the largest market share in Vic and Woolworths bought them out. All Woolworths stores in Vic were re-branded to Safeway, even though Woolies is the parent company, as Safeway had such a good reputation. Only now, about 20 years after the takeover, they are finally going to retire the Safeway name and rebrand them all as Woolworths.
Chris.
twinniefan
Well-known member
Woolworths -Safeway
Hi Chris,
Yes I remember Safeway although due to some funny legal restriction Safeway stores were called Red S here in Sydney and they used to have a nice store in Liverpool near where I live and I used to enjoy going there shopping there with mum and my sister during school holidays.
Now to Woolworths, I got my first job at Woolies when I was 16 in 1980 and ended up working for them for 10 years, I made some really good friends there and the work was mostly enjoyable however as time went on and I progressed into departmental management I saw the other side of big business, run your department with as few staff as possible,although you were still expected to make sales budgets and the endless criticism of whatever you did, particularly by senior management,you were expected to work extra hours to save on costs if budgets were not met without any overtime pay and you did not get any penalty rates either,although in those days at least you did not have the endless trading hours which are prevalent now,from memory we worked 8.30-5.30,Thursday night trading had only just come into being, which was until 9pm and Saturday was only 8am-12pm and that was it until monday.
I left after my ten years was up as it just seemed to be getting harder and harder,I most certainly would not like to work for them nowadays.
They also used to own Food For Less food stores,Flemings Fabulous Food stores,(both here in NSW now since converted into Woolies I believe),Nancarrows food stores and B.C.C.(which was short for Brisbane Cash and Carry stores)and I think Clancy's food stores as well as all the chains you mentioned.
Nowdays they are just a giant monster getting bigger and bigger destroying their suppliers and their competitors and really Coles is not much better, the trouble is these 2 giants are where most people live and quite often you do not have much of a choice of where to shop,there is just not anywhere else, there are a few Franklins stores here and there and even fewer I.G.A. stores at least here in NSW, I am not sure about other states although I think I.G.A might be strong in W.A. and S.A.
I am actually looking forward to Costco starting up here in Australia next year so at least therte might be some competition to these 2 retail bullies.
Rant over,
Cheers.
Steve.
Hi Chris,
Yes I remember Safeway although due to some funny legal restriction Safeway stores were called Red S here in Sydney and they used to have a nice store in Liverpool near where I live and I used to enjoy going there shopping there with mum and my sister during school holidays.
Now to Woolworths, I got my first job at Woolies when I was 16 in 1980 and ended up working for them for 10 years, I made some really good friends there and the work was mostly enjoyable however as time went on and I progressed into departmental management I saw the other side of big business, run your department with as few staff as possible,although you were still expected to make sales budgets and the endless criticism of whatever you did, particularly by senior management,you were expected to work extra hours to save on costs if budgets were not met without any overtime pay and you did not get any penalty rates either,although in those days at least you did not have the endless trading hours which are prevalent now,from memory we worked 8.30-5.30,Thursday night trading had only just come into being, which was until 9pm and Saturday was only 8am-12pm and that was it until monday.
I left after my ten years was up as it just seemed to be getting harder and harder,I most certainly would not like to work for them nowadays.
They also used to own Food For Less food stores,Flemings Fabulous Food stores,(both here in NSW now since converted into Woolies I believe),Nancarrows food stores and B.C.C.(which was short for Brisbane Cash and Carry stores)and I think Clancy's food stores as well as all the chains you mentioned.
Nowdays they are just a giant monster getting bigger and bigger destroying their suppliers and their competitors and really Coles is not much better, the trouble is these 2 giants are where most people live and quite often you do not have much of a choice of where to shop,there is just not anywhere else, there are a few Franklins stores here and there and even fewer I.G.A. stores at least here in NSW, I am not sure about other states although I think I.G.A might be strong in W.A. and S.A.
I am actually looking forward to Costco starting up here in Australia next year so at least therte might be some competition to these 2 retail bullies.
Rant over,
Cheers.
Steve.
