The Lighter Side on the Nineties

'Our mission ... to be at the heart of the community, the best loved retailer for kids, home and family leisure, helping you make everyday special through extra value and magical events'

In 1998 Kingfisher's rising star executive, Roger Holmes, became Managing Director at Woolworths. He had already spent a year preparing for the role and learning from the much-loved veteran, Roger Jones. Holmes aimed to harness the chain's strengths and prepare it for the Third Millennium. In keeping with the latest management science thinking, he started by introducing a summary of the organisation's purpose and goals, which was known as the 'Mission Statement'.

As well as outlining the chain's key ranges, it also acknowledged and built on the strong links which the stores had established with their local communities, and the unsung good works that many of the staff did in their home towns. The great majority of the local initiatives were for children's causes.

Holmes aimed to recognise and celebrate the staff's achievement, with a new registered charity called Woolworths Kids First. The Company would help to co-ordinate the efforts and support employees at local level who wanted to put something back. From a standing start in just eighteen months, in 2000 the charity reached a major milestone as it launched its two thousandth initiative.

Many of the larger stores also held 'magical events', making shopping special for customers with celebrities, fashion shows and even swap-shop events on Saturdays or during the school holidays. Buyers were also encouraged to develop extra value offers. Building on the work of his predecessor, Holmes harnessed the enthusiasm of the workforce, engendering great pride in the brand.

The mission statement capitalised on a series of Kids-related events throughout the 1990s. The Company had sponsored the Barnado's Champion Children Awards, as well as initiatives to support Childline, and Help a Child to See.

The initiatives had already established strong links between many stores and their local communities. Many colleagues gave time rather than money.

The external perspective also helped the Store Managers to develop their leadership skills and proved an effective way of improving teamwork in the stores.

The store initiatives also brought another benefit. It opened Managers' eyes to some of the issues facing the disabled. One Store Manager came up with an initiative that proved that it was possible to make a big difference at negligible cost.

Spotting the difficulty that some people had in navigating the aisles of his store, he suggested that each branch should be sent a plank of wood the width of a double-buggy or a motorised scooter for the disabled. He suggested that fellow Managers should walk their stores with the plank outstretched to spot and tackle bottlenecks in the gangways.

The idea effected more of a change than the subsequent Disability Discrimination Act, because it was simple and practical.

Woolworths supported Comic Relief for much of the 1990s, becoming the main outlet for Red Noses and raising money through the stores. Company Directors entered into the spirit of the event, with no less than five (Chris Ash, Don Sloan, Dan Bernard, Martin Toogood and Jim Glover) volunteering for a photocall with Lenny Henry and Peter Taylor and his staff in the Edgware Road store near the Marylebone headquarters in London.

The firm stepped aside in favour of the supermarkets when Kids First was adopted as the dedicated company charity.

Another popular charity was the Variety Club's Sunshine Coaches.
The firm's many amateur golfers, led by Distribution Director James Spittle, raised funds to hand over one minibus to Ronnie Corbett and Tim Brooke-Taylor and another to the Shankhill Arts Centre.

Woolworths also gave 5p from each 'Forever Friends' card sold, handing the cheque to June Whitfield.

Store staff were so moved by That's Life star Esther Rantzen's campaign to protect children from bullying and abuse at home, that they encouraged Company bosses to donate £10,000 to help get the new service off the ground. HR Manager Ian Woodward handed over the giant cheque, accompanied by members of Andy Baines' Marketing Team.

Altogether raunchier was a floor show at the Rotherham store to mark the release on video of the smash-hit film 'The Full Monty'. In keeping with the plot, in which redundant steel workers find an unusual way to make a living after their plant closes, a popular local group of male strippers 'The Real McCoy' were hired to strip to their 'Full Monty' boxer shorts for the benefit of a packed store of shoppers. The event was broadcast on BBC TV's Look North and received extensive national media coverage.

The scantily clad performers went on to carry two sales assistants shoulder-high around the store to rapturous applause from the crowd! Buoyed by the event, the store sold a remarkable £80,000 worth of the £9.99 video over the following week, along with 3,000 copies of a 'perfect partner' film for £2.

Perhaps the most remarkable story of the 1990s was news in Spring 1998 that a syndicate of fourteen colleagues had won the £4m jackpot in the National Lottery. Each took home a jaw-dropping £287,211.

The red top press dubbed the win 'The Wonga of Woolies' and reported that everyone planned to stay working in the store. The Assistant Manager, John Roberts, explained to the house paper, Woolworths News, 'at the moment everyone's staying at the store... we're that close, everyone gets on so well. It's almost like a family runs the store.'

Sales Assistant Eileen Holland, who had served for 23 years, told The Sun 'Woolworths has become part of my life. We're like one big happy family. Even shoppers are coming up to congratulate us'.

Woolworths exploited its position as the largest confectioner in Europe, to launch several new sweet brands. It also used its influence to restore several favourites to the shelves after they were dropped by the manufacturers. According to press reports it 'forced' Cadbury's to reinstate Bournville Boxed Chocolates, alongside its new Biarritz brand. Terry's agreed to supply Devon Milk in half pound (227g) and pound (454g) boxes. Mars Confectionery used the High Street chain for the return of Spangles, which had been a Sixties Favourite. They showed a true touch of class, hiring popular Bond-girl and TV star Honor Blackman for a photocall. She posed, Spangles aloft, on the bonnet of an e-type Jaguar in Covent Garden.

The long-serving Trading Controller Chris Willis, who helped to sustain and grow the firm's sweets offer was also instrumental in encouraging the Mars Company to introduce a range of Ice Cream, which later became an international best seller. But despite a reputation for moving mountains, even he was unable to turn Snickers back into Marathon and M&Ms back into Revels and Treats !

With a new mission, Kids First's 2,000 community-based projects, and a renewed programme of store openings, including the first new London store for twenty years, the Company allowed itself a moment of reflection and a sign or two 'celebrating our 90th birthday on your High Street'.

Woolworths went into the millennium walking tall, generating more than £100m a year in profit and confident of a rosy future. No-one knew that, less than ten years later, as the hundredth birthday festivities were about to get underway, it would all be gone and the firm would 'ascend' to become a world-class website as part of the Shop Direct Group. What a difference a decade makes.

Shortcuts to other exhibits

1990s Gallery

Limited Story Stores    Standalone Ladybird Store gallery    Visit a 1990s Woolies    New technology and EPOS    Profits bath in 1994

Spectacular £100m profits in 1997    Talks about talks    American Woolworth "retires" after 118 years    Asda merger fails

Big W     Woolworths Direct     90s People     Keith The Alien     The Lighter Side of the 90s     What Millennium Bug?

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