Woolworths Closes in Northern Ireland

The stores that once were the pride of Britain are no more. Woolworths in Northern Ireland closed its final two stores today (Saturday the 3rd January 2009), one at City Side Retail Park, where the store was once called the 'BIG W' and the other store, located in Coleraine.

Going round the store you could hear many people remember happy times, when Woolworths known as Woolies was the centre of the community. The fall of Woolies may signal poorer economic times ahead for all, but listening to queuing customers they also signaled another nail in the coffin of the values we once held as a nation in these by gone days.

The Woolworths group opened it first UK store in Liverpool in 1909 and although initially US owned became a British Institution. Its founder Frank Woolworth put the stores success down to 'buying power' which enabled low prices. Unfortunately, Woolworths in latter years appeared to lose customer focus, product focus and price focus, and failed to compete with every more powerful supermarkets.

Woolworths, synonymous with pick'n'mix around the nation, saw every item, fixture and fitting up for sale. Just like the MFI closure before it, which saw thieves descend on the stores like locus, Woolies had more than their fair share of thieves feeding off their misfortune. It is heart breaking that a store in collapse, where staff have lost everything in such bleak times, have to contend with such people. Like the rest of this Great City, we condemn them and pay tribute to the staff in Woolworths, who have served Northern Ireland well and whose professionalism to the end is to be commended.

Last Updated 3rd January 2009