While the last few years had brought an unfortunate end for a number of retail giants, there is one which, 14 years on, still cuts deep…Woolworths.
For younger people out there, they’ll probably hear people mid-20s upwards talk about Woolies and think to themselves 'what is this magical land of which they speak?' while for those old enough to remember its wonder, the very mention of its name, will fill your heart with joy.
There was great sadness across the land when it was announced in 2008 that Woolworths would be closing all its branches and, while the closing down sales offered some amazing bargains, regular shoppers would gladly return them all to have Woolies back.
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It’s easy to reminisce about things with your childhood with clouded up rose tinted glasses but, I think we can all appreciate Woolworths, which had branches all over the country, including in Newcastle and Gateshead, was an amazing absolute high street icon that never should be and never will be forgotten.
Let’s take a few moments to celebrate just why it was so darn good.
Pick n mix
Might be in severe danger of peaking too early here but couldn’t not start with Woolworths’ pick n mix.
While plenty of other shops did and still do offer the sweetie staple, nowhere did it quite like Woolworths.
And the best thing about it’s pick n mix was how cheap it was.
You could load up your bag with fried eggs, fizzy cola bottles, liquorice torpedos, jelly beans, spearmint chews, white mice and strawberry laces without fear of having to remortgage your house by the time it hit the scales at the till.
Two years ago there was great excitement when an online retailer started selling a jar of Woolworths pick n mix sweets.
But, as grateful as we were all were for the nostalgic gesture, as Marvin Gaye one sang…there ain’t nothing like the real thing.
The music section
For many children growing up Saturdays meant one thing - a trip to Woolies to spend your pocket money on the new singles that had come out that week.
It’s not such a well known fact that for a long spell in the 90s, Woolworths was actually the biggest music retailer in the UK, trumping the likes of HMV, Our Price and Virgin Megastore.
Woolworths’ music offerings were like an Aladdin’s cave of cassettes (remember them?!) and CDs, with artists like Take That, Spice Girls and Boyzone seeing their singles and albums go flying off the shelves.
Ladybird clothes
At the time we all probably rolled our eyes when our parents even made the mere suggestion at getting kitted out for school or a friend’s birthday party in clothes from Woolworths.
Why would your mum think you’d want to wear Ladybird clothes when she knew fine well you had your heart set on a Kappa tracksuit or music video worthy clothes from Tammy?!
But the fact is, as well as offering plenty of options, like Woolworths’ pick n mix, the shop’s own clothing line represented great value for money.
It might not have been high fashion but it definitely wasn’t high price either!
The toys
While Woolworths sold pretty much any toy you could think of (Gak slime being a big favourite of mine!) it did actually acquire its own brand of toy too, Chad Valley.
Many of you reading this will have probably played with a Chad Valley kitchen or pretended you were a Formula 1 champion on one of its ride ons.
After Woolworths sadly disappeared, Argos bought Chad Valley for a reported £5million at the start of 2009 - that’s a hell of a lot of dolls and plastic tool boxes!
The cafe
Now this one might raise a few eyebrows but some look Woolworths branches, much like fellow British institution BHS, did come with their own cafes!
The logo
While very basic in design, there was something both very reassuring and exciting at seeing those red capital letters against a white backdrop, especially like in the case of its massive store at the Metrocentre in Gateshead, where you could cover a lot of ground in spending your pocket money or persuading your parents to part with their cash!
Woolworths you might be gone, but you'll never be forgotten!
