Crunch beaters
Reporter: Jennifer Hollamby
Date published: 11 December 2008
Town centre stores report a roaring festive trade, but Woolies is a casualty
OLDHAM’S shops are doing a roaring trade in defiance of the economic downturn.
And while the news is full of doom and gloom in High Streets the length and breadth of the country, Oldham is bucking the trend and riding the storm with visitor numbers up 16 per cent on last year’s figures.
At the Spindles and Town Square centres, management have filled 10 previously vacant retail units with permanent stores.
The impressive statistics were unveiled at the meeting of the Oldham Town Centre Partnership by the Spindles and Town Square shopping centre manager, Mike Flanagan, who said: “Oldham’s town centre retail is bucking the national trend, and it’s really encouraging news.”
Mr Flanagan also revealed that a handful of major retailers who are not currently represented in Oldham have said that they are considering setting up shop in the town within the next 12 months — but the identity of these stores remains a closely guarded secret.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen major town centre retailers have said that their turnover is up on this time last year.
Mr Flanagan said that the desire of Oldhamers to shop more locally this year to save money and the early onset sales have combined to help the borough keep its head above water where other towns have been struggling.
He added: “Oldham is most definitely holding its own.”
However, it is not all good news.
Woolworths today launched closing down sales at its stores nationwide, including Oldham and Shaw.
Around 25,000 Woolies staff are said to have been served with redundancy notices and most of the chain’s 813 stores are expected to be shut in the next couple of weeks.
However, staff at the local stores were still awaiting their fate.
