From Woolies to Wellies

In Dorchester, an ex-manager of the failed Woolworths brand has created a phoenix from the ashes, documented in a show on BBC 1 last night.

Claire Robertson re-employed all the axed Woolies staff and renamed it Wellworths. She changed the stock a bit - with help from a new buyer who was obssessed with picture frames - and changed the look of the store slightly. She axed the poor selling CDs and DVDs - which did not keep everyone happy - but it was a cold blooded business decision.

The famous pic and mix was still there for everyone to see. Claire got a £100,000 loan and an agreement with her landlord for 3 months. The Wellworths store had a target of £38,000 sales to make every week in order to keep the business solvent.

Under huge time pressure the store opened and Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans did the honours - giving Claire and her shop well wearned national publicity.

Who knows how long the store will remain open in these troubling times of recession but good luck to Claire and her team. There was something about Woolworths that we all liked even if we didn't always shop there.