Goodbye Woolworths, Hello Wellworths!

Following the closure of Woolworths stores across the UK, one entertaining store manager has re-launched her branch under a new name, which was opened today by Chris Evans. Yet for people from Northern Ireland, the name will be a familiar reminder of days gone by.

The new shop's name is Wellworths. Yes, the old Northern Ireland department store's name has been resurrected by Claire Robertson. It's certainly not a new name for an alternative to Woolies. Wellworths used to be in nearly every big town in Northern Ireland - I can certainly remember one in Banbridge, on the opposite side of Newry Street from Woolworths. Back in 1996, the chain was bought over, with the smaller shops bought by the Musgrave Group, trading as Supervalu, and the larger ones were taken over by Safeway (which became Morrisons, which became Asda).

I wonder though, who owns the trading name of Wellworths? My guess is the Musgrave Group / Supervalu, as some stores were Wellworths-Supervalu for a while before the Wellworths name was dropped. The Wikipedia article is saying that the new shop won't be selling CDs or DVDs, so things are drastically changing.

No matter the controversy about the name, we wish Claire well with her venture - it's good to see people investing and creating jobs in the current economic climate. Shopping at Wellworths is well worth it - just like in the old days in Banbridge!