Sad shoppers say goodbye to 'Woolies'
GRIMSBY shoppers said goodbye to Woolworths on Saturday, as the store closed its doors for the final time.
The Victoria Street branch was the latest in the area to close, with the loss of 61 jobs.
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Woolworths in Grimsby has now closed.
As reported, the Cleethorpes store closed on December 30, and the Louth branch is due to close for the last time tomorrow.
They are among 807 Woolworths stores across the country to close following the collapse of the former high street giant.
Administrators Deloitte were appointed to try and find a buyer for Woolworths in November, but were unsuccessful and announced a huge closing down sale just weeks later.
About 600 stores have closed already, with the final round of closures to take place tomorrow.
Shoppers in Grimsby were busy snapping up the final bargains on Saturday, with CDs, DVDs, toys and childrenswear all reduced to clear.
Pamela Ellis (70), of Grimsby, said: "I think it is a shame that it is closing. I want it to still be open. It has been there for years and I have been shopping there since my children were young.
"I remember the store on Freeman Street where I used to go. I would buy everything from there, like toys and clothes.
"I don't know why it has happened, but I think it ought to still be open."
Jenny Atkin (48), of Grimsby, said: "I think it is a real shame, especially for all the people who are losing their jobs.
"I shop for everything here. They have always got cheap toys and we don't have any other decent toy shops in Grimsby.
"The old Woolworths on Freeman Street had a really big toy department – I got lost in it when I was a kid!
"I am sad to see it go."
More to come:
Look out for a full report of the closure of our area's last remaining Woolworth's store in tomorrow's Grimsby Telegraph.
See page eight for further economic developments in our area.
6 Comments
by x woolies colleague, grimsby
Monday, January 05 2009, 5:44PM
“ex wollies staff :(
sad loss that we all lost our jobs.. we had our good times there and we was proud to work for wollies.. all good luck to my former colleagues.. gonna miss u all loads.. special mention to jane,mandy,claire, hayley.. And not forgettin russell either.. thanks to you all for you hard work”
by claire, Grimsby
Monday, January 05 2009, 4:32PM
“Ada funny enough i was thinking the same thing.”
by Ada, Grimsby
Monday, January 05 2009, 4:03PM
“Wasn't the Tesco in Grimsby supposed to be a 'Big W' Woolworths store? The problems must have been going on for years.
The loss of Woolworths is no great loss to me, but the loss of so many jobs is a crying shame. Workers who have been let down by a management with no business acumen or vision.”
by RustySheriffsBadge, Rockridge
Monday, January 05 2009, 3:25PM
“I saw a load of folk peering into the windows on Saturday like lost sheep which was utterly sad, in fact sadder than the place going under. To be honest I bet most people only ever went into the place to cut through to get into Top Town and it's a right bummmer now you have to walk further up and cut through Marks and Sparks.”
by mark, grimsby
Monday, January 05 2009, 12:40PM
“i'm suprised ramsden's have kept going for this long as the crunch hit woolies”
by behave, cleethorpes
Monday, January 05 2009, 11:32AM
“Lots of people say its a shame that woolies has gone but we only have ourselves to blame.
we demand cheaper prices all of the time and the supermarkets have jumped on this and given the public what they want and under one roof. The sad thing is that woolworths could have reacted to this years ago and helped to stop it happening ! but they didnt and now the likes of tesco, asda, sainsburys rule the roost and i think going forward we will see a lot more stores closing.”