The changing face of the British high street?
There are concerns this morning for two big high street retailers - MFI and Woolworths. Shares in Woolies have been suspended, and there are reports that MFI is struggling to avoid collapse. Both employ thousands of people - employees are still turning up for work as far as we know this morning; we're going to investigate what the future is for these two institutions.
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It will be a shame if Woolworth's goes. I have used it all my life. I bought my first single in the Pinner branch (Blockbuster, by The Sweet) and much of my early record collection came from there. One of the most heartstopingly beautiful women i have ever seen used to work in the Dartmouth branch (nothing happened, i am pretty sure it would have annoyed my ex-wife). I remember buying wonderweb, so that i could alter my first pair of stay-press, when The Specials were the greatest band in the world. I remember my kids being desperate to go in, because they knew that there might be a cheap toy that Dad might be persuaded or nagged into buying.
Over the years, when i have wondered where i could get odd household items, they nearly always had them. Only a few weeks ago, i bought some new mugs, a Foo Fighters CD, a new ironing board cover and some stationary all in one trip, which is very important for us men. The only problem with that trip was that it was very busy and it took a while to pay, which makes me wonder what has gone wrong. I will miss it if it goes.
As for MFI, my memory is one fairly average kitchen sold to me by a salesman who had to be constantly reminded that it was our money and not his that we were spending. I won't miss them at all, although i feel sorry for the employee's of either company if they end up losing their jobs.
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There's the old Post Office adage "use it or lose it". Woolies became outdated, done for by a plethora of pound shops and the Tesco-isation of the nation.
Those of us of a certain age remember the wooden floored Woolies of the 1950's where island counters had their own tills and they tested light bulbs before you bought them. That was long, long ago.
Out of date - out of time. (The Post Office sounds a bit like that doesn't it?)
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Why is everyone crying over "Good Old Woollies." It's always been a naff shop, stuck in another age. Yes some people will lose their jobs, but, let's face it, what jobs? My very first job out of Uni was as a management trainee for Woolworth, back in the eighties. I only lasted 3 months, because I found it, despite a v good management training programme, a horrendous working environment. Full of old ladies talking about there cats and young girls with factory-worker mentalities and fish wife mouths, making inuendos and telling each other which blokes they got off with at the weekend, comparing love bites. (That is by no means an exaggeration) Sometimes losing your job can be the best thing that ever happened to you; it can make you take a hard look at what you actually want to do, instead of just carrying on with an, at best, mundane job. Even Woolies shop assistants are capable of so much more....
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