For generations of Islanders, no Saturday trip into town felt complete without a visit to Woolworths. Whether it was Newport, Ryde, Cowes, Shanklin or Sandown, generations of Islanders grew up with their local ‘Woolies’.
From pick ’n’ mix sweets and chart singles to toys, school supplies and Christmas presents, Woolworths became one of the defining shops of Island High Streets for more than 80 years.
The Woolworths story began in 1879, when Frank Winfield Woolworth opened his first store in Utica, New York. The company expanded to Britain in 1909 and quickly transformed High Street shopping with its fixed prices and wide range of affordable goods.
By the time Woolworths arrived on the Isle of Wight in the 1920s, it was already becoming a familiar part of British life.
The first Island branch opened in Ryde in 1927, followed by Newport in 1928. Cowes gained its own store in 1934, Shanklin followed in 1936, and Sandown opened around 1960 as Woolworths spread across the Island’s busiest shopping streets.
The Newport branch became the best known. Sitting prominently on the High Street, it was the sort of place where Islanders felt they could buy almost anything under one roof.
Toys, records, stationery, sweets, kitchenware, school supplies, birthday cards and Christmas decorations all sat side by side in a kind of organised clutter that generations of customers came to know well.
Even today, traces of the old Newport Woolworths survive in the High Street, where some original tiles can still be spotted beside the units that replaced the store.
Children headed for the famous pick ’n’ mix counters, carefully filling paper bags with cola bottles, flying saucers, chocolate raisins and pear drops before nervously watching them weighed at the till.
Elsewhere in the store, teenagers browsed cassette singles and later CDs from the music department, often buying the latest chart releases during Saturday trips into town.
For many Islanders, Woolworths was where they bought their first record, first cassette tape, first football annual or first Airfix kit.
One customer summed it up simply:
“This is the one shop I really miss. It had everything.”
Others remember the toy aisles in the run-up to Christmas, when shelves were stacked high with dolls, board games, selection boxes and wrapping paper while queues stretched toward the tills.
At busy times, the stores could feel packed. Pushchairs squeezed through crowded aisles, staff rushed between tills and customers, and somewhere nearby there always seemed to be the smell of pick ’n’ mix.
One Islander recalled:
“I am old enough to remember the babies in their prams parked outside and spent ages talking to them all when mum was in the shop.”
When Woolworths first arrived on the Island, many traditional shops still specialised in one trade – grocers, ironmongers, outfitters or stationers. Woolworths helped popularise the idea of buying everything in one place.
The stores adapted constantly. Vinyl records gave way to cassette tapes, then CDs, while traditional household goods slowly disappeared as toys, electrical items and seasonal stock expanded.
Former staff also remember the routines behind the scenes.
One former worker, who started with an after-school and Saturday job before later going full-time in the grocery and fruit and veg department, recalled:
“Had to clean the brass foot plates on the doors – put sand down on floor, and sweep and mop every night. Mr Evans was the manager – for a bloke with one leg, he got about quick.”
Another remembered the staff uniform clearly:
“Used to have to wear a sort of dark grey jacket with a big W on the breast pocket.”
Then came the collapse few expected.
Burdened by heavy debts, changing shopping habits and growing competition from supermarkets and online retailers, Woolworths entered administration in late 2008 during the financial crisis.
Clearance posters appeared in windows across the country, including on the Isle of Wight, and shoppers watched as shelves slowly emptied.
Customers wandered through increasingly bare aisles looking for bargains, souvenirs or simply one last look around stores they had known for most of their lives.
One shopper remembered:
“What a great shame when they closed their doors. Always something different to buy. Great selection of sweets. The Boxing Day sales were amazing.”
Others felt the closures marked a turning point for Island town centres.
“Newport is not the same since Woolies went.”
“Loved Woolworths, miss it so much. No good shops left in Newport High Street – like a ghost town now.”
Another former customer reflected:
“In my opinion it was the beginning of the end of retail when we lost Woolworths.”
By early 2009, the doors had shut for the final time.
For many Islanders, the loss of Woolworths felt like far more than the closure of another chain store.
It was the disappearance of somewhere woven into everyday life – the place people bought their first cassette tape, queued for Christmas presents, spent pocket money on pick ’n’ mix or simply wandered around on a Saturday afternoon in town.
Years later, former customers still talk about “Woolies” with a mixture of nostalgia and disbelief that such a familiar part of Island shopping life could disappear so quickly.
What was the first thing you remember buying in Woolworths on the Isle of Wight? Share your memories of ‘Woolies’ below.
I loved the garden centre that was at the rear of the Newport Woolies. There was also an open yard at the back where all the plants were. You can still see it sadly now all overgrown with brambles etc from Lugley Street.
Oh, those were the good old days – when the High Street was full with shops.
I started work on Saturday mornings at the Ryde Woolworths in the paint section right down the back.
My Aunty was the ‘face’ of Woolworths, her photograph appearing on their Recruitment and Induction booklet. She was a Supervisor at their Ryde branch in the High Street.
Her uniform was different from those worn by others who worked on the shop floor, making her stand out. I remember telling other pupils at school, “My Aunty is a Supervisor at Woollies”, which was always received with a “Wow”.
Back then, in the ’60s and ’70s, working in Retail was something to be admired and respected.
Many will remember the ‘Pick & Mix’; however, who remembers the ‘Broken Biscuit’ section? On a Sunday, when Aunty used to visit, she would bring along a bag of ‘Pick & Mix’, with a selection of ‘Broken Biscuits’.
Sadly, a culture that has died over time.
There we only one Woolworths such a shame when they went
under.
Their demise in the end was selling too many choices of
pencil cases.
The day vinyl records ended was their demise they should have
started selling food in their stores like B&M etc do.
During WWII Woolworths bought 2 Spitfire planes for the ear effort
F W Woolworths employees raised thousands of pounds and
the directors matched the amount raised pound by pound to
purchase these planes.
Sadly in the end no one helped Woolworths BUT THE GOVERNMENT
HELPED THE FAILING BANKS!
Woolworths lives on in my memories, where else do you
walk into a store and are greeted by overhead heaters when
entering.
Losing Woolies was like losing a loved one, everyone loved
Woolworths.
Gone but never forgotten.
I hope it helped the ear effort!
Woolworth is still a big name in Australia. But not related to the original company.
The Very Group took over the UK brand name Woolworths
and run it as an online store only until 2015
It needs bringing back it could be a success story again
even in Labour Britain
The answer is to employ less staff, that is why the
likes of Aldi and Lidl are successful and are gaining pace
with other supermarkets.
YOU WON’T FIND ALDI or LIDL EMPLOYEES SHIRKING
UNLIKE OTHER RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS.
labour don’t want us working no more..
I don’t think it is only Labour
The WEF control all parties.
I used to work inside Woolies in Newport as a Saturday job. Delmar bakery. I got to take home bread and doughnuts at the end of the day as they wouldn’t last until Monday. Loved my job. I would spend my wages on vinyl!
My Dad had worked in the Ryde and Newport Woolworths store when i was born in the 80s and i remember going there in the 90s looking at the music. My Sister also worked in the Newport store for a long time.
What happened to MacFisheries, Dewhurst,Eastmans, Timothy Whites, Olivers, Freman Hardy Willis, Victoria Wine, Courts and lots of other well known High Street brands?