Woolworths was unsurpassed on the high street for years (for us it’s the pick ‘n’ mix) so much so that it still sits in our minds to this day. And, the iconic brand could be heading back to our high streets. The brand in Germany, where it is known as Woolworth, was saved by HH Holding.
The Mirror reports that the German CEO of Woolworth, Roman Heini, says we could see the return of the much-loved shop that was a staple of every high street across the country. He is leading an expansion of Woolworth Germany un Europe and says new UK shops are on the ‘bucket list’.
We could be seeing those pick and mix sweet counters return to the UK. The retailer, lovingly nicknamed Woolies, championed the high street for decades before its demise in 2009 after the financial crisis – so it is unsurprisingly one of the most missed out of all the lost shops from the noughties.
Mr Heini said: “I don’t know of any brands where the recognition will be as high as it is in Britain, without having any stores. We have secured all the trademarks for the brand for the whole of Europe, so we could operate if we make the decision. It may be in the mix for the mid or long-term future.”
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Woolworth Germany also went into insolvency in 2009, but made a comeback and even expanded into Austria and Poland. It has over 600 shops – and does not sell online specialising in own-brand household goods and clothing including underwear.
Heini has previously been the boss of Aldi and Lidl and told trade mag Retail Week: “There are over 300 million potential consumers in Europe and no dominating player. The market is still there to be divided between the potential players for the future.”
Woolworth Germany spoke to the BBC: “The brand name ‘Woolworth’ (without the ‘s’) is owned by us throughout Europe. Should we ever plan to return to the UK, we would scrutinise the naming rights to minimise the risk of confusion. A transfer of rights could help if necessary.”
Last Year a YouGov survey quizzed Brits on which shops they’d most like to see on the high street once more found out that some of the biggest high street named such as Debenhams, BHS, Topshop & Blockbuster to name a few.
Half of Brits wished they could bring back Woolworths YouGov revealed with fifty and sixty-four the most likely to want to see it back at 60%.
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