The tills are alive with the sound of Woolies

It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were musing on the fate of the 800 stores that closed following the collapse of Woolworths. A new report estimates that over 60% of the former Woolworths stores are now trading again…

According to Retail Week, discount retailers have taken the largest number of stores and have acquired 37% of the Woolies portfolio.

Grocers accounted for 31% of shops while fashion retailers snapped up 15%. The remaining stores have been taken by home, sports, general merchandise, chemist and DIY retailers.

Iceland took the most Woolies stores (57), followed by B&M Bargains (35), 99p Stores (34), Heron Foods (18) and Home Bargains (17). Tesco, Poundland, Carpetright, New Look and Peacocks make up the rest of the top 10 occupiers.

Not surprisingly, most of the stores that remain empty are located in poorer secondary and tertiary locations.

Given the depth of the recession, a re-letting of 60% of the stores seems like a pretty positive outcome, particularly for retail staff who were made redundant. Lets hope many of them are now back working in their old home.