Sliced Bread - Toast - Woolworths
Woolworths was once a family favourite with well over 1,000 UK stores selling everything from kitchenware to pick and mix. So, why did the business collapse when other general retailers were on the rise?
The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, charts the company's highs and lows before asking 'what went wrong at Woolies?'.
Alongside him is the entrepreneur, Sam White, who at the end of the show has to reach her own conclusions, based only on what she has heard and her own business acumen.
Sean and Sam hear from expert guests including:
- Richard Hawkins - an honorary research fellow at the University of Wolverhampton and president of the marketing history organisation, Charm, who has written about the company?s early days
- Clare Bailey - a retail consultant who was employed by Woolworths
- Claire Robertson - whose retail career began with a Saturday job at her local Woolies and led to her running a spin-off business (called 'Wellworths') after the original failed.
- Tony Page - Commercial and Marketing Director at Woolworths from 2006 who tried to save the business after it went into administration
Produced by Jon Douglas, Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.uk
Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.
Published on Thursday, 5th June 2025.
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