What became of the Woolworths stores?
Exactly 10 years after the iconic retailer disappeared from the British high street 91% of former Woolworths sites remain in use as shops, according to new research from Gateshead-based retail consultancy CannyInsights.com.
The researchers found that 43 ex-Woolworths sites are currently fully vacant but only four – or 0.5% – have never been reoccupied at all over the last decade.
The biggest single occupant of ex-Woolworths sites, by far, is Poundland with 147 – nearly a fifth of the estate. Nearly half of ex-Woolworths sites (350; 43%) house variety stores, while more than one in five (176) now accommodate a grocery or convenience store. Only 22 Woolworths sites have been wholly turned over to non-retail uses; a further 23 are now non-retail in part.
At least 86 former Woolworths properties – 11% – have been permanently subdivided to accommodate more than one new occupant but just six former Woolworths premises (less than 1%) have been demolished in the last decade.
CannyInsights.com retail consultant Graham Soult said: “Amid challenging times for retail right now – arguably the most challenging since 2008, when Woolworths collapsed into administration – the findings from the #Woolies10 research paint a more positive picture of the high street than many might expect.”
