Denis: Even pick ’n’ mix failed to seduce me

Dec 2 2008 by Our Correspondent, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE Wonder of Woolies passed me by. I was never a fan of the bargain high street store that was there well before pound shops.

My childhood was before pick ’n’ mix, so even that failed to seduce me.

But I will be sorry to see the brand name go. It has been an old reliable storefront on every high street. A sort of haberdashery on a large scale.

Can’t think where you might find a certain item? Try Woolies. They’re bound to have it.

While never being a fan, my wife Maria and I have, rather presumptuously, taken it for granted.

Twenty years ago, we bought a washing machine from Woolworths when its New Street premises had three floors. We have been regular recent visitors because of its terrific toy section and the quality of its kitchen goods.

If and when the chain closes, it will be like losing an old friend who doesn’t mind that you only call in to see them occasionally.

Sadly, we seem to have lost many old retail friends in the last 10 years, and not just because of recession.

Out-of-town malls and purpose-built shopping centres have catered for chain stores and high streets have suffered. The multiples are ever present in every town, making shopping a Stepford Wives experience.

Whether you are in Billericay or Batley, the shops are the same.

What a difference from when I was growing up and dragged round the town centre on a Saturday by my mother.

People went to individual shops for individual products and every town and market had a massive choice of butcher, baker and candlestick maker.

Well, maybe not a candlestick maker, but you get the idea.

Shopping was a matter of individual preference, variety was the spice of retail life and supermarkets hadn’t been invented. It was a far richer experience.

Of course, in bad weather you got wet or cold walking the streets, but that was far preferable to the noise and claustrophobia of Meadowhell and all the other centres of cloned stores.

Ah yes, say their supporters. But malls are so much more convenient – and soulless.

Who knows, maybe in another 10 years we’ll all be doing our shopping on the internet and having it delivered to our door.

That, too, will be much more convenient.

It’s just a shame that by then the fun of a real shopping experience will be no more than a distant memory. Just like Woolies.