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Encyclopedia > Woolco
Woolco
Type discount department store
Founded 1962
Headquarters Columbus, Ohio, Flag of the United States USA
Industry Retail
Products Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, toys and housewares.
Website None

Woolco was a discount retail department store chain that operated in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1962, as a subsidiary of five-and-dime chain The F.W. Woolworth Company. Woolco stores were considered by many[1][2][3] to be Woolworth's response to S.S. Kresge Corporation's Kmart stores. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The interior of a typical Macys department store. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Ohio, USA Coordinates: , Country State Counties Franklin, Delaware, and Fairfield Government  - Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) Area  - City  212. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Drawing of a self-service store. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... In finance, discounting is the process of finding the current value of an amount of cash at some future date, and along with compounding cash from the basis of time value of money calculations. ... Drawing of a self-service store. ... The interior of a typical Macys department store. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A subsidiary, in business, is an entity that is controlled by another entity. ... Five and dime was a common nickname in the United States for five-and-ten-cent stores (also called 5 and 10s), popular in the early to mid-20th century. ... Foot Locker Inc NYSE: FL (formerly Z) is a United States company specialising in athletic footwear and clothing. ... Kmart is a chain of department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Contents

History

Creation

The creation of Woolco coincided with the expansion of suburbia. Woolworth's flagship stores were still doing well, but the company wanted to tap into the growing discount department market without diluting its dominant position in the variety store business.


The first Woolco stores were located on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. The stores proved successful, and by 1966 there were 18 open in the United States and 9 in Canada. Plans at the time were for 30 stores to be added per year to the base. This led to tremendous growth as over 300 Woolco stores popped up all over North America by the mid 1970s. Nickname: Location in the state of Ohio, USA Coordinates: , Country State Counties Franklin, Delaware, and Fairfield Government  - Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) Area  - City  212. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ...


The company experimented with both Woolco and a more downscale merchandising unit called Worth Mart in the mid 1960s. Woolco was the eventual winner with customers, and the Worth Mart stores were folded into Woolco's store base by the 1970s.


At the outset, Woolco stores were considered by the company to be "promotional department stores," with expanded product lines and other amenities not typically found at namesake Woolworth stores.


Many locations contained Red Grille restaurants (actually a cafeteria style outlet), and the food areas sold popcorn, real milkshakes, and other food. One of a number of cafeterias at Electronic City campus, Infosys Technologies Ltd. ... For other uses, see Popcorn (disambiguation). ... A strawberry milkshake topped with whipped cream and strawberry syrup A milkshake is a sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream, and sweet flavourings such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce (in Canada and most regions of the United States, and the United Kingdom. ...


Canada and the United Kingdom

As a smaller, less crowded, retailing market, Woolco had a bigger impact on the retailing landscape in Canada than it did in the US. There were 160 stores in Canada at dissolution.[4] They were so well-known that Canadian songwriters Leon Dubinsky and Max McDonald even wrote a popular song called "Working at the Woolco Manager Trainee Blues" (1977).[5] During the 1970s and '80s, the Canadian stores were well-known for their monthly "$1.44 Days", wherein numerous items were sold at a price of $1.44 CAD. Competitors Woodward's & Eaton's ran "$1.49 Days" usually the first Tuesday each month. Some stores also contained an automotive and tire service department. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Loonie. ... Woodwards logo. ... Eatons was once Canadas largest department store retailer. ...


A number of Woolco stores were opened in the UK in the same period.[6] These were spun off along with the British Woolworths chain in 1982 and subsequently sold by Kingfisher plc to Gateway in 1986. Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Kingfisher plc is a UK-based international retailer, which has owned a wide variety of retail chains in its history but is now focused on the DIY business. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...


Demise

Woolco, like other department stores in Canada, sometimes sold products under their own brand name.
Woolco, like other department stores in Canada, sometimes sold products under their own brand name.

The energy crisis and recessions of the 1970s took their toll on the entire Woolworth organization, with Woolco bearing the brunt of the misfortune. Also, the Woolworth organization had to take on heavy debtloads just to keep the Woolco stores operating. Image File history File linksMetadata Woolcoproduct. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Woolcoproduct. ...


The typical Woolco store size was well over 100,000 square feet, which was quite large for a discount store of that era, and many of its departments were leased to third-party operators, a common practice among early discounters.


Starting in the late 1970s, Woolworth enacted a cost-saving plan for Woolco that included a reduction in floor space for the largest locations, the elimination of most leased departments and an expansion into smaller markets with stores as small as 60,000 square feet. During this period, the excess space in some larger Woolco stores went to a Woolworth-owned off-price clothing retailer called J. Brannam, which was short for "Just Brand Names"


By 1979, it became clear that the earlier cost-saving plan would not be enough to save Woolco from failure, so Woolworth combined the discount store operating unit with its variety stores and began to close stores in unprofitable markets including Chicago. Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ...


Closure

Woolco ceased operations in the United States in 1983. However, the Canadian division of approximately 120 stores remained open. In 1990, 26 Woolworth stores in Canada were converted to Woolco because of their larger size. In 1994, in order to repay the $1.7 billion debt incurred from international specialty store expansion, the Woolworth Corporation sold most of the Woolco Canada stores to Wal-Mart Canada. Wal-Mart did not acquire the Woolco stores that were either unionized or had downtown locations. Some Woolco stores were sold and re-opened as Zellers stores. Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Wal-Mart Canada is the Canadian unit of Wal-Mart and was founded in 1994 in Mississauga, Ontario with the purchase of the Canadian Woolco stores. ... Zellers Inc. ...


Former Woolco locations

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Former Woolco locations in the US  
Former Woolco locations in Canada  
Former Woolco locations in the United Kingdom  

Moose Jaw is a city in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada on the Moose Jaw River 71 km (45 miles) west of Regina. ... Location of North Battleford, Saskatchewan North Battleford is a small city in west central Saskatchewan, Canada. ... Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria Prince Albert is the third-largest city (after Saskatoon and Regina) with a population of 41,072 as of 2006, in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. ... Nickname: The Queen City Motto: Floreat Regina (Let Regina Flourish) Location of Regina in the SE quadrant of Saskatchewan Coordinates: Country Canada Province Saskatchewan District Assiniboia Established 1882 Government  - City Mayor Pat Fiacco  - Governing body Regina City Council  - MPs Dave Batters Ralph Goodale Tom Lukiwski Andrew Scheer  - MLAs Joanne Crofford... Northgate Mall is a shopping mall in the Northgate neighborhood of north central Seattle, Washington. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Saskatoon is a city located in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. ... Confederation Mall is a shopping mall located at 22nd Street and Circle Drive. ... A screen showing financial news at The Center, an office complex in Central. ... , Bournemouth is a large town and tourist resort, situated on the south coast of England. ... Arms of the former Hatfield Rural District Council Hatfield, originally Bishops Hatfield, is in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, in the south of England. ... , Killingworth, formerly Killingworth Township, is a town north of Newcastle Upon Tyne, in North Tyneside, United Kingdom. ... {infobox England place| |Latitude= 53. ... Arndale Centres are a large chain of shopping centres in the United Kingdom - they were the first American-style malls to be constructed in the UK. The first centre was built in Jarrow in 1961, and was followed by developments in Leeds, Luton, London, Bradford, Aberdeen, Poole and other British... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... , Oadby is a town within the borough of Oadby and Wigston, in Leicestershire, England. ... Thornaby-on-Tees is a civil parish within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. ...

References

  1. ^ http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Foot-Locker-Inc-Company-History.html
  2. ^ http://www.geocities.com/zayre88/R_woolco.html
  3. ^ http://www.wtv-zone.com/dpjohnson/60sdiscountstores/page3.html
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ a b The Woolworths Virtual Museum [3] retrieved on August 6, 2007
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k F.W. Woolworth Co., Enjoined From Violation Of Tris Ban
  8. ^ Tucson 1970s
  9. ^ Phoenix Village, State’s First Mall, Hits Hard Times
  10. ^ a b Gateway Mall/Radio Shack Shootings and other Gateway area tragedies
  11. ^ a b c Discounters from Woolworth to Wal-Mart
  12. ^ Malls of America: Edgewater Mall
  13. ^ 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st Century Chronology of Ocean Springs
  14. ^ http://ron1966.vox.com/library/posts/tags/old+walmart/
  15. ^ a b Dead Retail
  16. ^ North Carolina TravelGuide
  17. ^ 60s Discount Store
  18. ^ Freeway Proximity Spurs Retooling Of Old Store
  19. ^ Deadmalls.com: Wampanoag Mall
  20. ^ Hurricane Celia
  21. ^ Houston Means That I’m One Day Closer To… Galveston
  22. ^ The Chronological History of Harlingen
  23. ^ a b Stonehenge North Wood Designs
  24. ^ Malls of America: University Mall
  25. ^ http://omnibuses.blogspot.com/2005/08/wonder-of.html retrieved on August 6, 2007

 

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