The wonder of Woolies, that was

Assistant manager Naomi Bombien locks up the Oldham shop for the final time

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The shelves are bare — indeed, the shelves are sold — and the doors locked to mark the end of a retailing era.

IT’S the end of an era for shoppers and staff as Woolworths closes its doors for a final time amid a sales frenzy.

There was sadness as the Shaw branch on Market Street shut up shop on Saturday with the Oldham branch on High Street following today. In all, 807 stores across the country have closed, leaving 27,000 workers facing redundancy.

The closures had been delayed by administrators Deloitte to give the stores time to clear remaining stock.

Discounts increased as shoppers flocked in search of bargains — even fixtures and fittings went up for sale.

The two-storey Oldham shop was stripped almost bare yesterday, with people snapping up tills, safes and office computers and furniture.

“If it’s not nailed down, it’s sold,” said branch manager Nick Davies. “People are coming in for the bargains and rummaging through boxes..

“I thought we would struggle. It’s been easy to sell things but it’s hectic. We are the last store now. We will shut when we run out of stock. I can’t see us being open too late as there’s not much left.”

Mr Davies (37) has worked for Woolworths for 14 years, two years at the Oldham branch, which has been open for 10 years and employs up to 80 staff.

He said: “Some have handled it better than others. Credit to most of them, they are still coming in and doing their job. It’s not the best working environment but the majority still turn up to do their best for you.

“For me it’s not hit yet as it’s so busy. When the shop is shut and empty that’s when it will hit. I have only ever worked for Woolworths and I think I will be quite upset. I love my job, I really do. It’s a nightmare when I have a week off. I can’t imagine not having a job.

“It’s easy to blame the recession but the company has been run into a hole and has been losing its way for a while. Top management have come and gone and not run the company properly.”

Part-time workers Tom Engels (23) and Daniel Bilton (19) said the loss still hadn’t sunk in for colleagues.

Tom said: “It’s not that much of a problem for me but for all the people working here full-time it’s not good.”

Daniel added: “We have known for a month, but I think it’s started hitting people this week.”

Customers were sad to see Woolworths’ demise. Marjorie Walling (78), from Springhead, said: “I ran a market stall in Oldham for 30 years and I have shopped here since it opened. I’m sorry to see it go. I’m really upset about it and I will miss it. I’m surprised no one has bought it. I think it’s a lovely place.”

Lee Edmondson, from Royton, regularly shops there with wife Louise and children Jacob (four) and Georgia (eight).

He said: “We thought we would pop in to see what’s left. Every time we come into town we go into Woolworths, usually for toys or clothes for the children or maybe CDs.

“I’m surprised because I did not think Woolworths would be going. It’s an institution and you always expect it to be here. I came here as a kid as well and will miss it. It’s really sad.”

John Moorhouse (72), from Failsworth, said: “I’m just looking about for any bargains. I feel sorry that it’s going and it’s a bit sad really. I think people will miss the High Street shops as there’s a lot of big names gone for ever.”

The Shaw store employed 14 people. Manager Reg White, who had been there 18 months and who has found a new job at Tesco, said: “We never knew anything about it, it just came out of the blue and was devastating. It’s been that hectic we didn’t really know what was going on. It hit us when all the fixtures and fittings had gone.

“It went from being a very quiet shop to really busy. Everything went, we were just left with a few bits and bats. It was a real community in Shaw. I came from Liverpool every day and it was a real family store. The shops around us have been fantastic.”

The High Street giant, considered the cornerstone of shopping for 99 years, called in the administrators in November as it became the biggest casualty of the credit crunch so far with a £385 million debt.

Deloitte has held talks with other retailers to take on the leases of around 300 Woolworths stores and hopes to sell off the Ladybird children’s clothes and Chad Valley toys brands.