Woolworths brand to be resurrected online

Tuesday, 03 February 2009 11:46

As a result of this move, Woolworths will join the Barclays' online retailing empire, which includes Shop Direct, Littlewoods as well as several former home delivery divisions of Argos including Kays, Marshall Ward and Great Universal. The latest deal adds the Woolworths brand name, together with rights to children's clothing brand Ladybird. The sale comes a month after the last of Woolworths' 809 stores closed, ending a 100-year presence on high streets.

The brands owned by the Barclay brothers have built up substantial share of the fast-growing home delivery shopping market with a range of keenly priced lines similar to a department store offering. Web sales have risen from 18% to 56% in three years.

Shop Direct chief executive Mark Newton-Jones said: "It would have been a tragedy if the [Woolworths] name had disappeared – an iconic name in British retailing – so we are delighted to be bringing it back." He noted that the first Woolworths store in the UK opened in 1909 in Liverpool, where Shop Direct has its head office.

Before its collapse, Woolworths ran an online retailing business through a Jersey subsidiary which allowed it to sell goods – mainly CDs, DVDs and games – free from VAT thanks to a controversial loophole in European law.