Welcome to the Original Virtual Museum - celebrating Woolworths' century at the heart of British High Street Shopping
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please click a menu button Original Virtual Museum Home Page please click a menu button The Woolworth value store concept is born in the USA please click a menu button Laying the foundations as the first British Woolworth store opens in Liverpool in November 1909 please click a menu button Woolworths rapidly open forty-four stores in Britain and Ireland before facing a World War please click a menu button Bigger, brighter and bolder Woolworth stores in the Roaring Twenties please click a menu button Woolworths go to amazing lengths to keep all prices under sixpence in the Thirties please click a menu button Bravery and defiance during World War II in Woolworths' finest hour. We pay tribute to the sacrifices made and look behind the scenes please click a menu button Redefining the Woolworth brand for modern times in the 1950s, as prices go up and stores get bigger and bigger please click a menu button Superstores in and out of town, a new own brand and the opening of overseas Commonwealth stores during the 1960s please click a menu button Woolworth struggles to keep up during the rapid inflation and change of the 1970s please click a menu button Woolworth stores in more recent times, covering the period 1980-2008 please click a menu button
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Background to the Original Virtual Museum and copyright information about the contents Origins of the firm's legendary pic'n'mix and a century of chocolate, candy and confectionery in the High Street A century of music and entertainment in the High Street from sheet music and gramophone records to CDs and blu-ray discs A century of toys, games and fun in the High Street stores of F. W. Woolworth A century of fashion in the High Street, from paper patterns and sixpenny knickers to an extensive range of award-winning Ladybird clothing A century of cards, pens, pads and books from the shelves of F. W. Woolworth stores Pots and pans, paint and brushes, bulbs and compost and even toiletries - all in High Street Woolworth stores for much of the twentieth century Woolworths pioneered Christmas decorations in the 19th century and supplied presents for our parents, grandparents and great grandparents from their High Street stores Working conditions and pay rates at Woolworths over a hundred years and some of the people behind the brand-name Our cinema, quiz and picture gallery features Visit the new look 21st century Woolworths on line, on the site operated by Shop Direct Group
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Strategy for the 1980s

Geoffrey Rodgers, Chairman of the British Woolworth at the time of the management buy-in by Paternoster Stores Ltd (later known as Kingfisher)

 

This page shows the new Woolworth Chairman Geoffrey Rodgers' strategy to modernise the business in the 1980s. It is reprinted from advertisements placed in Britain's leading broadsheet newspapers, including The Times, The Financial Times and The Scotsman.

The supremo also gave a number of interviews in which he predicted that in ten years time the firm's new acquisition, B&Q, would dominate the DIY market and Tesco and Asda would do the same in the grocery sector. At the time City pundits and the media ridiculed Rodgers for his views, but in retrospect his foresight about the market was remarkable.

The press advertisements are believed to have drawn attention to the break-up value of F.W. Woolworth & Co. Ltd. and prompted a 'management buy in' offer from a consortium of venture capitalists in 1982, which set the firm on a very different course as the Eighties continued.

 

The original Woolworth strategy for the eighties, by Company Chairman Geoffrey Rogers. This was prepared in 1979 and circulated shortly after the chain announced that it had bought the DIY retailer B&Q.

 

We have enlarged the graphic from the left hand side of the advertisement to make it more legible, and reproduced this below.

 

Graphic setting out the key elements of the intended Woolworth strategy for the Eighties

 

 
If you have enjoyed our Virtual Museum website, why not check out our complete history of Woolworths in a 194 page, richly illustrated paperback book? A Sixpenny Romance is just £10.99, with free delivery in our on-line shop.
The special DVD, the Wonder of Advertising, is now available in our on-line shop for £7.50 in our on-line shop. A fully illustrated 194 page history of Woolworths, or a selection of professionally authored DVDs in our on-line shop