Woolworths

Woolworths was a chain of Department stores in Great Britain. The company went bankrupt at the end of december 2008.

Woolworths is founded in Liverpool in 1909 as the English branch of the American Woolworth stores by Frank Woolworth. In 1982 it became English Woolworths acquired by Paternoster Stores, a forerunner of the Kingfisher group. In 2001 Woolworths shares were publicly traded.

Woolworths is regarded as icon in the British shopping streets, similar to the HEMA in Netherlands. The range was by de Volkskrant described as a mix between "Wibra, Blokker, Jamin and HEMA".

The retail chain went bankrupt at the end of november 2008, and 807 outlets closed their doors. About 30,000 workers losing their jobs.