Woolworths Group

EN Texte en anglais Pas encore d'article dans ta langue : extrait en anglais.

Woolworths was a high-street variety retail chain, founded in 1909 by Frank Winfield Woolworth as the British division of the American F.W. Woolworth Company. In the 1920s and 1930s, Woolworth had engaged in rapid nationwide expansion, becoming one of the country's largest retailers. It also operated Woolworth divisions internationally, such as in Ireland. In the 1960s, the retailer introduced its Woolco hypermarket stores. In 1982, Woolworth separated from its American parent when it was purchased by Paternoster Stores Ltd, which would become Kingfisher plc. The sale included B&Q which Woolworth had previously acquired. In 1984, Woolworth became Woolworths. In June 2001, Woolworths split from Kingfisher plc and became Woolworths Group PLC, including MVC, VCI Group (later known as 2Entertain), Entertainment UK, Streets Online, Chad Valley and Ladybird. The Woolworths Group later included Total Home Entertainment and Bertrams. On 26 November 2008, the Woolworths and Entertainment UK subsidiaries entered administration. Deloitte closed all 807 Woolworths shops between 27 December 2008 and 6 January 2009, resulting in 27,000 job losses. Woolworths Group plc entered administration on 27 January 2009. In February 2009, Shop Direct Group (later known as The Very Group) purchased the Woolworths brand and website, which continued as an online-only business, until its closure in June 2015, when it was merged into Very.co.uk. In May 2021, the former German division of the F.W. Woolworth Company, Woolworth GmbH, acquired the British and Irish Woolworths brand and website from The Very Group for an undisclosed sum.