Woolworths could be making a shock return to the UK at some point in the future, according to a new interview with its CEO.
We all know the iconic retailer was an absolute stalwart of British high streets for over 100 years.
It started out in the UK all the way back in 1909 as F.W Woolworth & Co, and was known for selling children’s clothing, stationery, and toys right from the very beginning, before expanding its offerings as the years went on, and eventually properly taking off in the mid-1920s.
At the height of its success, new Woolworths stores were opening doors as often as every two to three weeks, and by the time 2008 rolled around, there were 807 branches across the country.
But sadly, one the recession hit amid the 2008 financial crisis, Woolworths’ sales started to rapidly decline – which led to the Group entering administration with Deloitte in November 2008.
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All Woolworths stores closed down for good by early January 2009.
Woolworths reportedly could be making a return to UK high streets / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | David Wright (via Geograph)
Since then, other retailers such as Wilko, B&M, and similar discount stores have appeared to fill the void, but that hasn’t stopped Brits lamenting the loss of the beloved ‘Woolies’ and begging for its return to our side of the pond once again.
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And now, it seems like those calls for a comeback could have finally been listened too.
That’s because Woolworths’ CEO, Roman Heini, has set out at his plans for the future of the company in a new interview, and a return to Britain is apparently on his “bucket list”.
Hinting at what could be to come for Woolworths within the next decade or so, Mr Heini – who joined Woolworth Germany in late 2020, after formerly steering the ship at supermarkets Aldi and the US branch of Lidl – told Retail Week that he has sights set on the UK.
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Woolworths’ CEO, Roman Heini, says he wants to bring the retailer back to our country / Credit: Woolworth GmbH
“The market is still there to be divided between the potential players for the future.”
Although a return to the UK is something that’s on Heini’s “bucket list,” it seems that nothing is imminent, and there are no actual concrete plans set out for a return any time soon.
He continue: “I don’t know of any brands where the recognition will be as high as it is in Britain, without having any stores. We have secured all the trademarks for the brand for the whole of Europe, so we could operate if we make the decision.
TikTok star turned pop star Addison Rae announces gig in Manchester
Thomas Melia
Viral TikTok star and now recording artist, Addison Rae, has announced her first-everheadline European tour, where she’ll be paying Manchester a visit, and tickets go on sale this week.
After launching into the music scene back in 2021 with pure pop single, ‘Obsessed’, Addison made her pop star intentions very clear.
Since then, Addison has gone on to work with high-profile artists such as Charli XCX, who appears as a feature on track ‘2 Die 4’ taken from her first EP, ‘AR’.
Addison also contributed to the inescapable phenomenon of last year that was ‘Brat Summer’, appearing on the aforementioned A-list artist’s Brat remix album, on a reworking of the hit ‘Von Dutch’.
With more than 88.5 million followers on TikTok alone and north of 35 million on Instagram, it goes without saying that her legions of ‘Sunraes’ (yes, a real term used by some in the community) will be lining up to get tickets to her UK tour dates.
Now the singer is ready to take the world by storm, confirming a US and European tour following the release of her debut album, simply titled Addison.
This LP, which features standouts like smash single ‘Diet Pepsi’, ‘Aquamarine’ and ‘Fame Is A Gun’, has been met with rave reviews from fans and critics alike.
The fledgling 24-year-old American-born pop star is a big fan of the UK, so much so that one of the singles from this very debut album, ‘Headphones On’, includes a music video dedicated to frozen food retailer Iceland.
See for yourself…
Addison Rae is set to bring ‘The Addison Tour’ – her first on the continent and here in Britain and Ireland – to Manchester Academy on 30 August, with general admission going on sale this Friday, 20 June.
So, if you’re a fan, get ready to grab yours HERE.
Featured Images – Pandora (screenshot via YouTube) Press shots via Dillon Matthew (supplied)
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More than half of Brits agree that dating apps should let you filter by height
Emily Sergeant
A new survey has revealed that more than half of Brits agree that dating apps should let you filter people by height.
There’s no two ways about it, to some people, size matters… and by ‘size’ we mean height.
If you haven’t heard the news or seen the ongoing discourse on social media yet, dating app Tinder caused a bit of a stir when it announced last week that it would be starting to let its users filter their potential matches by height – which many have been quick to brand as ‘disadvantaging’ for those who are considered.
More than half of Brits agree that dating apps should let you filter by height / Credit: Good Faces Agency (via Unsplash)
Despite this, it seems men and women are both in agreement, as a new YouGov survey has revealed that 56% of men and 55% of women think that dating apps should allow people to decide what heights are suitable for them.
In fact, the number of men (23%) disagreeing with this is actually slightly lower than the number of women (29%), even though it’s seen as more of a disadvantage to men.
While height has been the big talking point in recent days, there’s also a couple of other factors included in the YouGov survey, and it’s these that appear to have divided the public more in their responses.
Should dating apps let users filter by height? Most women say yes – and so do most men
Women: 55% say yes Men: 56% yes
Women who have ever used dating apps: 67% yes Men who have ever used dating apps: 62% yes
Just over half (51%) of men who responded to the survey support allowing dating app users to filter by how heavy their potential partner is, while this figure falls to just 36% among women, and among the younger age group of 18-29 year olds, 68% of women say they are opposed to it.
Men in that age group are also the most likely to be against weight filtering too, coming in at a 38% opposition, but nevertheless, 51% of young men still do tend to think it’s a legitimate metric for choosing potential partners.
When it comes to other attributes, the public tend to say that dating apps should allow users to filter people by their education level at 48%, but not by their income, which only 29% see as appropriate.