Woolworths

[PJEI]

As a supplier to woolworths for many years, the news of their demise, is very worrying times,there is still hope, that some store can be sold, so that the buisness can continue, but hope is the word really.

We do provide to two other big retailers,but woolworths has always been the main one, does anyone have any advice at all of who to contact to make
a bad situation better, obviously our stock sells in these woolies stores, so now we need a different outlet, some big retailer to take them, any advice or contacts would be most useful.

We also have a large space free for hire,or to use to move into a different area of buisness, just trying to decide what to do next.

[LINGsCARS]

As a supplier to woolworths for many years, the news of their demise, is very worrying times,there is still hope, that some store can be sold, so that the buisness can continue, but hope is the word really.

We do provide to two other big retailers,but woolworths has always been the main one, does anyone have any advice at all of who to contact to make
a bad situation better, obviously our stock sells in these woolies stores, so now we need a different outlet, some big retailer to take them, any advice or contacts would be most useful.

We also have a large space free for hire,or to use to move into a different area of buisness, just trying to decide what to do next.

Hate to be simplistic and I don't want to make this sound simple, but couldn't you partner with someone here to internet-retail this stock? Not sure what it is, but sysops seems a likely target. Can you disclose what you have, or a similar line? Post some pictures maybe. eg. "Like this XXXX" without showing the actual line, if you want to keep it discreete?

[Mister B]

Sorry to hear this...which line of goods were you supplying and where were you based?

Mister B

[PJEI]

Thanks for reply, yes we would be happy to deal with an online retailer,the buisness has been running for 40 years, mainly providing to the same companys, so we have not developed a website or built online buisness.
Mainly as we are a manufacturing company, that has been providing the same product to the same places for many years, we have not really had the need before.

If anyone can point us in the right direction, I would be most appreciative.

We are based in the midlands

[matt.chatterley]

Thanks for reply, yes we would be happy to deal with an online retailer,the buisness has been running for 40 years, mainly providing to the same companys, so we have not developed a website or built online buisness.
Mainly as we are a manufacturing company, that has been providing the same product to the same places for many years, we have not really had the need before.

If anyone can point us in the right direction, I would be most appreciative.

We are based in the midlands

Have you considered setting up your own online retail outlet?

Admittedly there are overheads involved - e.g getting organised to be able to handle customers, despatch goods, etc - so it's your call if it's worth while or not!

What sort of products do you supply?

[garyk]

I guess it will come down to how many product lines you currently have. If you have a few then an online presence is going to be more straight forward than if you have 1000s of lines and how easy you can get the information out of your current stock ledger into an online catalogue either for your own offering or outsourcing.

Gary

[Kernelpower_Ltd]

Woolworths problem is that they dont specialise in any particular area , i very rarely go there.

[PJEI]

Thanks for the help. We just have a few ranges

[Steve2507]

Thanks for the help. We just have a few ranges
What are the ranges??

[KidsBeeHappy]

MSE has a 20% off voucher for woolies this weekend, just print off and take into store. Valid on almost anything i think.

Also, Gap, Threashers - they're all panicking.

[leemason]

Our local Woolies has already closed down and is empty. It's a real shame after so many years but it did feel like a company that had no real direction. But where can I get my pick 'n' mix from now?

[sysops]

Thanks for the help. We just have a few ranges

Relying on just one outlet is a risky strategy. I think your best option is to look at finding other outlets for your products. You could start by telling us what they are, I'm sure you'll get lots of good ideas specific to your sector.

[domokun]

Woolworths problem is that they dont specialise in any particular area , i very rarely go there.

Yeah, this was their problem, although the stores themselves were quite good in some respects. I remember a few months ago trying to get my hands on Mario Kart Wii. Everywhere was sold out. HMV, Game, Play.com, Amazon ... I was just passing Woolies and though, hell, why not? They had about 20 copies behind the till! Clearly they had either over ordered or, like us, no-one even thought to try the place!

[Barnie]

i was speaking to a jml regional manager today and she was saying they have been told not to send any of their reps to the stores as they have not been paid for months, by all accounts she was told to get ready to pull all their stock out of stores

was also told by somebody else they are trying to rent more floor space out just to keep money coming in, when i say more they already rent out loads of store space



not sure if its a to little to late now but they should have changd the format of the stores years ago

[sirearl]

Thanks for reply, yes we would be happy to deal with an online retailer,the buisness has been running for 40 years, mainly providing to the same companys, so we have not developed a website or built online buisness.
Mainly as we are a manufacturing company, that has been providing the same product to the same places for many years, we have not really had the need before.

If anyone can point us in the right direction, I would be most appreciative.

We are based in the midlands


Might be interested Please PM me what the products are.

Earl

[trevormuk]

I am waiting to be paid by Woolworths, and am becoming very concerned!

I would be interested in your range - if you want to PM me. I have opportunities for mail order, online and direct fulfilment services

Best wishes
T

[Dragon Media Group]

Our local Woolies has already closed down and is empty. It's a real shame after so many years but it did feel like a company that had no real direction. But where can I get my pick 'n' mix from now?

The cinema is always my first port of call for pick and mix!

[adam]

If we don't know what the product is I am loosing interest.

A doctor cannot analyse a growth without seeing it!!

[sysops]

If we don't know what the product is I am loosing interest.


Shhhh! It's a secret!

[movietub]

Where will the people who currently buy your products from woolies turn to when Woolies is no more? Whats their next logical step? Those place will be the most ameneable to stocking your products and they will be on the look out to pick up certain good seller where Woolies left off.

I would assume you already have a long list of potential alternatives - or did you not notice your operation hinged on just one faltering main client until 2 weeks into this recession?

[movietub]

Thanks for reply, yes we would be happy to deal with an online retailer,the buisness has been running for 40 years, mainly providing to the same companys, so we have not developed a website or built online buisness.
Mainly as we are a manufacturing company, that has been providing the same product to the same places for many years, we have not really had the need before.

If anyone can point us in the right direction, I would be most appreciative.

We are based in the midlands

Hmmm...

Ignore my previous post. I too would be interested having just read the above. If the products been out there for 40 years and on the shelfs of a mojor high street retailer it should do well online. Unless it was supplied as a littlewoods branded product and has no brand of its own (that the public are aware of). If one or some of the interested parties helped you setup a good drop ship system online sales could be almost instant as well.

I would be very interested - PM sent. :)

[nass]

My understanding is that they're planning to continue trading over the Christmas period to get revenue in and then shut down all their stores straight afterwards.

My kids love Woolworth's. My wife thinks they were great when they had their "ladybird" brand of children's clothes but losing that was bad. I think they failed to make it into the 21st century.

[UKSBD]

I remember Woolworths as a kid, hadn't been in one for at least 30 years
but just recently have started going in there again, my little girl loves it.

[complete]

One major thing I have found with Woolworths is the staff are just like robots. They just stand there looking bored, stacking shelves or serving by the till. No customer interaction whatsoever.

Totally out of date on todays high street.

A coupe of years ago I bought £32000 worth of returned toys/bikes from them at 5% of the retail value and I would say that 50% of that stock was fine and they could have sold it for a lot more than they sold it to me. Container loads were available on a weekly basis and they were just not geared up to deal with returns. Just sell them at a low price.
I made good money reselling these.

Argos do the same. Chucking money away.

[trevormuk]

My understanding is that they're planning to continue trading over the Christmas period to get revenue in and then shut down all their stores straight afterwards.

My kids love Woolworth's. My wife thinks they were great when they had their "ladybird" brand of children's clothes but losing that was bad. I think they failed to make it into the 21st century.

I think they will find it hard to trade when they do not have any stock to sell. Suppliers will not take the risk of supplying stock on credit terms.
I am bracing myself!!

[matt.chatterley]

The cinema is always my first port of call for pick and mix!

Can you afford cinema pick+mix (or indeed, anything edible from the cinema)?? Last time we had a snack along with a film I had to chop off my left arm to pay for it! :p

[gogreen]

Shares have been suspended this morning so looks like it is the end.
Shows the risk of having too many eggs in one basket. But, as already pointed out -everyhting in Woolies is on sale elsewhere -so approach their competitors with your products

Best of luck

Anne

[Howard Graham]

If I could have more details on the products, might be able to help

[oldeagleeye]

Woolies hasn't been able to get credit from any supplier now for over a week and if the company does go into liquidation I doubt any suplier will get any money as the first priority will be to top up the pension fund which is down tens of millions. If you got stock in the stores then get it out. Just say that you are taking walking possesion because the invoice ain't been paid.

Mind you as far as the OP concerned can't really think of any uk manufactured goods I have seen in Woolies and he is depndent on just a few major outlets. Are we talking one of the others being Wilkingson and gardening equipment. Whatever. There are always smaller operations near to Wollies. Time perhaps to put the Reps hat on and get out there. Rob

*** Woolies are in talks with an EU company and even Tesco Extra might be interested. Sainsbury are also expanding the smaller stores open from 8 till 10 though I wouldn't be surprised if Wallmart stepped in. All in all a risky punt on shares that could double your money in 6 months.

[garyk]

One major thing I have found with Woolworths is the staff are just like robots. They just stand there looking bored, stacking shelves or serving by the till. No customer interaction whatsoever

Hmmm you could point that comment at most high street multiples! Halfords and Toys r us spring to mind as dreadful in terms of shop floor help.

[complete]

Hmmm you could point that comment at most high street multiples! Halfords and Toys r us spring to mind as dreadful in terms of shop floor help.

Thats what my wife said to me this morning.

A poor in store experience always puts me off of going back to that store.

Maybe these companies need to look at Customer service across the board, to gain that repeat business.

[movietub]

Thats what my wife said to me this morning.

A poor in store experience always puts me off of going back to that store.

Maybe these companies need to look at Customer service across the board, to gain that repeat business.

I want to take the opportunity to add PC World to the list of chain shops which offer crap service as standard.

Everytime I go in there and ask a question the sales person picks up the box I was looking at to find an answer! As if I had'nt tried that much before bothering to ask a moron with a chain in his ear for help!

[xgc505m]

Woolies has been 'at sea' for while. If I wanted anything they sold, I could get it via another venue. What exactly was Woolworths?
Sweets - Newagent
Cards - Clintons
Toys - TrU
Clothes - Tesco.... ah that would be it.
Let blame the supermarkets for wollies demise.
The vultures are circling others, but I'd not have picked JML. Perhaps WH Smiths? What do they do???

[oldeagleeye]

Woolworths have survived the last 25 years on the back of revaluaing its property portfolio. The main income for the last 15 years has been Music CD and DVD's. A combination of Mp3 and other retailers like Tesco has really hit their position and of course they can't revalue again at this time.

It's a shame really. I know that the staff training was practically non-existant but Woolies did provide a lot of part-time jobs for women and they will be gone forever. Rob

*Don't know if it has been mention yet but Woolworths are now formally in recievership along with MFI which went bust yesterday. Woolies will however still open today. Rumour is everything a £1 by the afternoon.

[Dave.F]

Websites gone down:

http://www.woolworths.co.uk/

http://www.mfi.co.uk/

[Steve2507]

Websites gone down:

http://www.woolworths.co.uk/

http://www.mfi.co.uk/
I like the "undergoing essential maintenance" message.:rolleyes:

I don't understand why the liquidators have taken them down though, surely selling the stock at full value has got to be a good option??

[movietub]

If anyone feels nostalgic about Woolworth's you should buy them up! Just £1 for the lot.

Not only will you get £300m debt to keep for life but also a country full of run down, poorly maintained shops with dusty stock and workforce of a thousand staff either to old or to young to have much hair... Priceless. :cool:

[oldeagleeye]

The owner of our local 'cheap jack' shop was in Woolies today buying up stock and there have been discounts of up to 70% all week now. I can't see the store staying open later than Sat but the government have been hoping staff keep their jobs till Jan.

As said. I doubt it because the asset strippers are gathering. The administrator is talking to 3 groups already and their main interest is not in the keeping stores open but the wholesale books and music business which is both big and profitable.

What will happen to all those freehold stores ?. Why the banks will buy them of course on the back of the money they should be lending the public.

[Moneyman]

I have just remembered someone else who will not be happy:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/3168496/Sir-Alan-Sugar-grabs-nearly-4pc-of-Woolworths.html

Notice the line he is now mostly invested in comercial property.

someone is not having a good time!

[oldeagleeye]

Alan Sugar has a lot to thank Woolworths for. His company Armstrong were on the verge when Woolies came to the resue and stated selling his hi-fi systems. Without that support the company would never have gone on the develop the green wp's.Alan doesn't forget friends then and I rather suspect that money went to pay staff.

Having said that he is obviously a shrewd player. At the worse this will be a tax write off in an £800 million pound empire. At best the wily old extrepreneur will get prime pick of the property.

[complete]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/3219071/Sir-Alan-Sugars-Woolworths-stake-building-hits-major-snag.html

Trust him to be so lucky.....:rolleyes:

[oldeagleeye]

We all are. We now own nearlly 20% of HBOS. Sack the staff if you get bad service when you next bank.:eek:

[Moneyman]

Yeh gods that was jammie in the extreme.
Failed to deliver shares...i would have rushed over and nailed them to his hand and then banked his cheque without pausing for breath...there will be more on this i am sure. the guy who was flogging them also has huge stakes in just about every other retailer in the uk.

Still sirallan still has a couple of percent in woolies so he still will hurt.

Oh and eagleye i dont think the equity owners get anything just the creditors.

[businessbooster]

As a supplier to woolworths for many years, the news of their demise, is very worrying times,there is still hope, that some store can be sold, so that the buisness can continue, but hope is the word really.

We do provide to two other big retailers,but woolworths has always been the main one, does anyone have any advice at all of who to contact to make
a bad situation better, obviously our stock sells in these woolies stores, so now we need a different outlet, some big retailer to take them, any advice or contacts would be most useful.

We also have a large space free for hire,or to use to move into a different area of buisness, just trying to decide what to do next.


Hi there sorry to hear about your situation.

Can you be really specific about what you manufacture please?
You could set up a shop on ebay if the priority is to create cash flow quickly.

thanks

Richard

[Moneyman]

I think they should anounce all the major retailers debt to uk banks, so that we can try to prop them up. as we (the current bank owners) will probably be the losers if they go under.
We (the nation) are borrowing huge amounts of money to give us more cash so that we (the shoppers) can prop up companies that we (the bank owners) have lent too much money to because we have lent the banks loads of our money because we (the bank customers) cant pay back the money to the banks that we borrowed....

Mr Brown can fiscually stimulate off!

[cycloneuk]

I went into the local Woolworths yesterday and staff were busy sticking yellow stickers on everything, with the majority half price. Stilll there were only a handfull of people in there, it is the only place that sells a good range of toys around here apart from Argos so sad times.

[oldeagleeye]

Moneyman. I think the put the money in when Woolies were in a grey area between calling in adminsitrators and the official declaration. In such circumstances the investor can stipulate conditions and sometimes even shoot to the top of the creditors list - but whatever. A few percent shareholding is diddly squat and a useful tax write off against another business or a few luxury's like the helicoptors etc.

PJE. Lots of us on here have connections and have asked what products. We may be able to help if only an introduction. Pm me then with brief details or post in the forum if you want help. Rob

[KidsBeeHappy]

I think the Alan Sugar problem was all that the shares were due to come through Kaupthing (sp??)

[Moneyman]

A few percent shareholding is diddly squat and a useful tax write off against another business or a few luxury's like the helicoptors etc.

Rob

A useful tax write off...you mean a loss of cash.
Useful tax write off is what you say if you lose someone elses money, not your own