The demise of Wilko's in 2023 vs the demise of Woolworth's in 2008

[Lencoboy]

A couple of weeks ago the UK retailer Wilko going the way of the dodo was big news which kind of reminded me of when Woolies also went bust almost 15 years earlier at the end of 2008 in very similar circumstances, and both stores were of a similar type.

I remember back when Woolies finally went the way of the dodo forever more around December 2008-January 2009 there being a fair amount of public outrage over it and certain posters on Digital Spy (threads read some years later) making it out to be heavily symbolic of Brown's 'Broken Britain' and a lot of collective grieving for those who were suddenly faced with unemployment as a result.

Fast forward 15 years to the Wilko situation now in 2023; it's still very sad for those now in turn faced with unemployment as a result but where's the same mass public outcry over it? Also why aren't people having the same digs at Sunak and Co and screaming 'Broken Britain (II)' over this like they did to Brown and Co over the demise of Woolies (and the GFC in general) 15 years earlier? Were those on the political Right back in 2008 more inclined to being drama queens in order to further their agenda to get shut of New Labour at the time and get their beloved Tory party back into power once again some 18 months later, of which they actually succeeded? Are people more blase about the current situation with Wilko (and other 'named' retailers that have also gone the way of the dodo over recent years) irrespective of personal political angle?

I don't know as to whether or not it's just me but I can't help wondering if the demise of certain long-running firms no longer carry the same weight among the general public anymore?

[Lencoboy]

A couple of weeks ago the UK retailer Wilko going the way of the dodo was big news which kind of reminded me of when Woolies also went bust almost 15 years earlier at the end of 2008 in very similar circumstances, and both stores were of a similar type.

I remember back when Woolies finally went the way of the dodo forever more around December 2008-January 2009 there being a fair amount of public outrage over it and certain posters on Digital Spy (threads read some years later) making it out to be heavily symbolic of Brown's 'Broken Britain' and a lot of collective grieving for those who were suddenly faced with unemployment as a result.

Fast forward 15 years to the Wilko situation now in 2023; it's still very sad for those now in turn faced with unemployment as a result but where's the same mass public outcry over it? Also why aren't people having the same digs at Sunak and Co and screaming 'Broken Britain (II)' over this like they did to Brown and Co over the demise of Woolies (and the GFC in general) 15 years earlier? Were those on the political Right back in 2008 more inclined to being drama queens in order to further their agenda to get shut of New Labour at the time and get their beloved Tory party back into power once again some 18 months later, of which they actually succeeded? Are people more blase about the current situation with Wilko (and other 'named' retailers that have also gone the way of the dodo over recent years) irrespective of personal political angle?

I don't know as to whether or not it's just me but I can't help wondering if the demise of certain long-running firms no longer carry the same weight among the general public anymore?

I'm not saying people are right or wrong not to be making as much of a song and dancing over this; I'm just more baffled in the sense that these things seemed to be a much bigger deal in past decades than they seem to be now, including under previous Tory govts, let alone (New) Labour.

Let's face it, I also remember when Rover went bust earlier in the 2000s and there was mass national uproar over it, and the (then-opposition) Tories allegedly being 'down with the (former) workers' of the Longbridge plant. There was also a mass protest march through Birmingham city centre over it too. Fast forward to 2022 when the National Brewery Centre in Burton on Trent closed down barely an eyelid seemed to be batted and no reports of any mass protest marches through the town by the locals over it which probably would have been a dead cert in past decades. On a more national scale, with the demise of other long-running retailers like BHS, Maplin, Mothercare and Debenhams over the past decade or so people have seemingly just shrugged it off, unlike in the past where there would have no doubt been widespread grief and upset over their demise.

Like I said at the start of this post, I don't think people are either right nor wrong not to be overly concerned about such things, but I do often wonder if it's because most people in general are now so embroiled in their own little worlds coupled with decreased attention spans in general? Which in itself doesn't necessarily carry any rights or wrongs; just the world has probably changed.

[Lencoboy]

Still no one's replied to this thread; just shows I must be correct in the sense that most people seem to be more blase about such things that would have been a much bigger deal in previous decades, as in good old Woolies going bust some 15 years ago being the subject of much discussion among many (and much lamented) at the time, but seemingly barely a murmur from anyone in the same way about Wilko's right now, which has (or had) similarities to Woolies.

No personal vindictiveness necessarily intended to anyone on here though.

[Carnation]

One word answer....

Amazon...

Also, since the pandemic and all the fear feeding, the public are not shopping in the High Street like they used to. Online shopping is convenient and time saving and looks the way forward.
There's also the issue on less spending on certain items and knowing Wilkos stock, maybe a new cushion, bedding, towels and general household items are not a priority any more. It will be a make do with what you already have for a lot of people.

Boots are closing down their shops and that is a surprise, so maybe the Supermarkets that sell almost everything now are partially responsible for that one.

[Keith]

A lot of Wilko stores were taken over by other companies and lots of jobs were saved as a result, which softened the blow that Wilko was closing down, I think so anyway. When Woolies was closing down I remember one big part of the story was the amount of people who would now be out of work, and at the time unemployment in Britain was rising and being reported on a lot too, if I remember correctly.

[Lencoboy]

One word answer....

Amazon...

Also, since the pandemic and all the fear feeding, the public are not shopping in the High Street like they used to. Online shopping is convenient and time saving and looks the way forward.
There's also the issue on less spending on certain items and knowing Wilkos stock, maybe a new cushion, bedding, towels and general household items are not a priority any more. It will be a make do with what you already have for a lot of people.

Boots are closing down their shops and that is a surprise, so maybe the Supermarkets that sell almost everything now are partially responsible for that one.

BIB 1. Wasn't it the same when Woolies went bust; when the GFC was approaching its high point and people just like now were tightening their belts like mad?

BIB 2. Is it all Boots stores or just certain stores of theirs that are unprofitable? In some respects this ISN'T really a surprise to me as I have kind of predicted this to come for over 10 years or so now.

Generally speaking, the seemingly terminal decline of the High Street was already evident long before the pandemic, but obviously accentuated even further by it.

[Lencoboy]

A lot of Wilko stores were taken over by other companies and lots of jobs were saved as a result, which softened the blow that Wilko was closing down, I think so anyway. When Woolies was closing down I remember one big part of the story was the amount of people who would now be out of work, and at the time unemployment in Britain was rising and being reported on a lot too, if I remember correctly.

I reckon that could be one plausible reason why there's been less of a hoo-ha over the loss of Wilko compared to the loss of Woolies 15 years earlier.

As for overall unemployment right now, I'm sure they said that it's been on a bit of an upward trajectory once again over recent months, though people and the media have hardly been making a song and dancing over it so far, unlike back in 2008-09.

[Carnation]

I agree on all those three points lencoboy.

It's all boots stores that are closing.

[Darksky]

I didn’t know all Boots were closing? I thought it was just 300 going. If that’s true thats awful. Although I did read that Iceland were starting to close stores because of customer shopping habits. Round here the death of the high street can be tied to the rise of the retail park, which in turn are now losing stores…Mothercare,MFI, Smiths Do it All etc. But generally they seem to be ok. Always packed when we go there.

[Carnation]

You are right darksky. It is 300 stores. I correct myself.
The article I read was slightly misleading.