Last Woolies store to keep doors open for extra day

Published on Saturday 3 January 2009 10:07

THE last remaining Woolworths store in Edinburgh is to stay open for an extra day in a bid to sell off extra stock.

The Big W at Milton Link had been due to close after Monday's trading but it will now trade for the last time on Tuesday.

Its other city stores at Lothian Road, Stockbridge, Leith and Corstorphine have all already been shut down.

A spokesman for Woolworths' administrator Deloitte said: "There are two main reasons for delaying the closures.

"One, stock levels – there's still some stock remaining. Two, workload – it's a big logistical exercise. The remaining dates were delayed to allow time for the final arrangements to be made."

FW Woolworths first came to the UK in 1909, when the American firm opened a branch in Liverpool. Everything in the Merseyside store was sold for sixpence (2.5p), making it an instant hit and the company quickly expanded.

The chain, which outlived its US parent by more than ten years, was already foundering when the sharp downturn in consumer spending toppled it in November.

Deloitte has held talks with other retailers to take on the leases of around 300 Woolworths stores and hopes to sell off the Ladybird children's clothes and Chad Valley toys brands.