BOOM!!!! Financial Meltdown!

[ItsThere]

I used to work in Woolworths and a lot of people from my home town still do.

I feel sorry for them because the Administrators duty lies first and foremost with the creditors of the company and not with the staff and their paycheck.

Bad times

[dataDave]

I have to admit that the last time I used a shop for anything other than food was... well, I can't remember.

Get more and more people like me and we won't need shops before long. Let's face it, they are only in place to give old people something to do during the day and to give some people jobs.

[Nijo]

I have to admit that the last time I used a shop for anything other than food was... well, I can't remember.

Get more and more people like me and we won't need shops before long. Let's face it, they are only in place to give old people something to do during the day and to give some people jobs.

You're right, but what will we do when the apocalypse comes and there are no shops to loot?

[Daragon]

Sweet sweet justice for putting Jackie Chan in an advert with some stupid puppets.

To be fair, I think most film makers have Jackie Chan starring along side stupid puppets.

His own acting skills are a little on the wooden side

Back to Woolies however, I would be a little bit gutted about hearing this news, but their golden days died out a long time ago. I fondly remember when morality meant something to them - not the days of late, when you'd find it almost impossible to replace your 3rr 360 within it's 12 month warranty, or when you'd get accused of having opened up a supposedly sealed game when you tried to return it.

[Daragon]

You're right, but what will we do when the apocalypse comes and there are no shops to loot?

The goods have to come from somewhere

[Nijo]

The goods have to come from somewhere

Amazon warehouses are full of killer robots!

[gunrock]

Firstly, my thoughts go out to the 30,000 or so employees whose jobs are at risk at Woolies. Never a good time to lose your job, but this news breaking just before Christmas must be a real kick in the teeth for them.

But just from a personal point of view, I'd be heartbroken if we end up losing Woolies presence on the high street. Maybe you have to be of a certain age to appreciate just how exciting Woolies was as a kid. It specialised in everything - from CDs, cassettes, games, toys, pick 'n mix to garden furniture. A trip to Woolies was a real treat when you were young. Like visiting Santa's grotto, or something.

Though I have to confess I haven't walked into one of their stores for ages. I did order a Xbox 360 120gb hard drive from them recently, but I did that online. Great service, too. I do have to admit to feeling a little guilty, though. Perhaps I should have got off my arse and supported them a little bit more. The problem is as an adult they've become a bit of an irrelevance to me. What products they sell seemed truly wonderful when I was ten, but now they just seem to specialise in tat, and thanks to the interweb, you can usually get things like CDs and DVDs cheaper elsewhere.

Still, a little bit of my soul died when I heard this news yesterday.

I feel the same, Woolworths was a vital part of my growing up and over the years I have managed to pick up so many bargains when they were clearing their stock of N64 then Dreamcast and more recently Gamecube titles.

I'll miss it and my local high street won't be the same without Woolies....

[Brats]

I strongly suspect at least one major UK high street retailer will go to the wall in the next six months.

That was me back in September. Though TBH I'm surprised it happened this quickly .

[VR46]

Exactly, I read the other week Woolies would need to find a buyer before end of Jan, guess the pre-Xmas sales figures have been way off the mark

[Fastware]

It's telling that people are sentimental for Woollies but have not shopped there themselves for a long time.

[ChrisF]

Not entirely sure of their ties, but I read on BBC news that Woolies actually have something to do with distributing doovdes to supermarkets? Or is another company that's in the same situation as them? Can't work it out (having only skimmed the page!)

[gunrock]

Not entirely sure of their ties, but I read on BBC news that Woolies actually have something to do with distributing doovdes to supermarkets? Or is another company that's in the same situation as them? Can't work it out (having only skimmed the page!)

They have a wholesale distribution arm that is a collaboration between them, the beeb and some others. Apparently, it's still a going concern.

[gunrock]

It's telling that people are sentimental for Woollies but have not shopped there themselves for a long time.

Not in my case. You'll often find me and my wife and 5 year-old perusing Woolies on a Saturday or Sunday. It's a great place to pick up cheap (sub 10 quid) presents for my daughters multitudes of school friends who have invited her to their birthday party.

Also, it's ok for kids and babies underclothes, too.

[charlesr]

Woolies needs to stop selling music films and games. They can't compete. Their prices are always too high and range limited. They need to concentrate on the tat/confectionary/kids stuff.

[spagmasterswift]

Woolies was the only place I could go in my town to buy games, tis a sad day indeed.