A high-street fixture for 99 years, its pick-and-mix counter vanished when Woolworths Group fell into administration in the 2008 crash and shut all 807 UK stores, ending about 27,000 jobs.
Born
1909 CE
Died
2009 CE
Lived
100 years
Dead for
17 yrs
At its peak
807 UK stores; ~27,000 employees at closure
Cause of death
Replaced
The Obituary
The British arm of the American F. W. Woolworth chain opened its first store in Liverpool in 1909 and became a fixture of nearly every UK high street, known for cheap household goods, toys, records, and its pick-and-mix sweet counter. Saddled with debt and squeezed by supermarkets and online retailers, Woolworths Group entered administration in November 2008 as the financial crisis hit. No buyer was found for the whole business, and all 807 stores closed by January 2009, putting about 27,000 people out of work. The brand survived only briefly as an online venture.
Worth remembering
Its pick-and-mix sweet counter was a defining feature of British childhood for generations.
At its end it operated 807 stores and employed about 27,000 people.
Gallery
Woolworths storefront on Westgate High Street, Heckmondwike, photographed May 2009 in the chain's final weeksBetty Longbottom · CC BY-SA 2.0Woolworths Coventry store exterior displaying closing down sale signage, Christmas Eve 2008E Gammie · CC BY-SA 2.0
Sources
Woolworths Group entered administration in November 2008 and closed all 807 UK stores by January 2009 Wikipedia
Woolworths UK closure left around 27,000 staff without jobs BBC News
Woolworths UK entered administration on November 28, 2008, after accumulating £500 million in debt and watching weekly shopper numbers fall by more than one million; the 807 stores closed in four waves between December 27, 2008, and January 6, 2009—42 days after the collapse announcement and 11 months before the chain's centenary. Woolworths Museum
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.
Buried nearby — by shared fate or a neighbouring lifespan.
