A couple of months ago I was thinking about (not aloud) buying a gross worth of Woolworth Shares. This was when they were around 4p each. This was an attempt to prop up my own faith in what has seemingly become a failing British Institution and backed up by the idea that some gallant knight on a shiny white porcelain steed (3.99 pounds for medium size) would coming galloping in to the rescue.
How could we, the British Public let an iconic store like Woolworths fail? But we are and the shares have now sunk further to around 2p each. The British public are all sitting back whilst this previous answer to all a families needs sinks beneath the waves and we are not even stepping forward with a sticking plaster (1.50 pounds for a pack of various sizes).
Plastic shops have taken over the UK, stores that promote cheapness, knives that cut once then break the next, screw a light bulb in and watch it go fizzle, see the chrome fall off a dish rack faster than it can be washed away, watch a fancy hair band snap in two, play with plasticine for the children and spend hours trying to wash it off, use the batteries once and then buy more, see your hair fall out with an overdose of chemicals disguised as shampoo and watch the ink run out of pen faster than you can write. The Pound Store, the 99p Store, Ali's Cave, etc. have all put the nail in the coffin of Woolworths and we have allowed it to happen.
Admittedly, the policy decisions of the Woolworths board has not been exactly great of late. They seem to have lost direction and it an attempt to find one have been changing the looks and stock faster than they can keep track of them. Years ago, once the CD and DVD side started to flag they should have found a new direction (3.99 pounds Comprehensive road map of the UK) and stuck to it but this never materialised and they have drifted around ever since.
No gallant knight has come forth and I doubt that one will now and whilst I am saddened at the British ability to throw a previous life to the bin (3.99 pounds metal with lid) I am extremely glad that I didn't buy those shares to watch them sink through the floor.
Saying that, it seems that Hilco is in talks to takeover the retail sector of Woolworths for a token one pound! Perhaps I could empty my piggy bank (1.99 pounds old post box style) and offer 5 pounds for the lock, stock and barrel?
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