大象传媒

Shoppers wait for the shop to open

Around 70 people waited up to 40 minutes for Woolworths in Derby to open on Thursday morning after the store announced it was reducing prices across the board to maximise takings before it closes for good.

The company has been placed into administration and is trying to shift as much remaining stock as possible from its 815 outlets across the country to make money for its creditors.

In what looks like the beginning of the end for the retailer, its administrator Deloitte has said that some shops could close for good by the end of the year.

The small crowd waited patiently for the shop, on The Spot, to open its doors at 9am but one shopper said he was unimpressed with what he found.

He said: "Some of it's only 10 per cent off. After watching telly last night, I thought everything would be half price. I couldn't see many bargains at all."

But another customer said: "I came in for a particular item I'd seen last week and found it had gone down from 拢11 to 拢7.50.

"The problem with Woolworths is that it hasn't moved with the times. Just down the road you've got pound shops selling virtually identical sorts of items that Woolies are selling for two or three pounds."

Talks over the sale of the leaseholds of individual stores are continuing.

It is thought that Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco, the Co-op and discount chain Poundland are still interested in picking up some of the retailer's prime sites.