Prices slashed in Woolies sale as Dragon pulls out of rescue bid

MILLIONAIRE entrepreneur Theo Paphitis has pulled out of a possible deal which could have saved the jobs of employees of the Minehead branch of Woolworths.
The troubled retailer went into administration last week with debts of £385 million and receivers Deloitte was immediately approached with several inquiries about purchasing the chain.
Mr Paphitis, a star of the BBC Dragon’s Den television programme, was said to be interested in bidding for some of the more profitable Woolies stores and maintaining the Woolworths brand.
However, the Dragon has now pulled out and said in a statement: “Unfortunately, the constituent parts of Woolworths are more valuable than the whole.
“The administrators have a difficult job to do and I appreciate they need to get the highest cash value for the business.
“I hope that an alternative proposal succeeds in securing the future for the many Woolworths employees involved.”
Mr Paphitis has previously revived troubled brands such as La Senza and the stationary chain Rymans.
His withdrawal leaves the future of 30,000 Woolworths jobs in doubt, although Deloitte said the stores would continue throughout the Christmas period and money had been ring fenced to pay salaries.
It is now expected that most of the stores will be sold in small groups to a number of different bidders.
The deadline for bids for single or small groups of stores was 4 pm on Wednesday.
Supermarket firms Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose, the Co-op, and discount chain Poundland were all said to be interested in some of Woolworths’ prime high street locations.
The largest shareholder in Woolworths, Ardeshir Naghshineh, was also reported to be preparing a bid for the company.
Woolworths will tomorrow start its ‘biggest ever’ sale in an effort to shift large volumes of stock, slashing prices by up to 50 per cent across its product range.
Deloitte partner Neville Kahn said: “We anticipate increased footfall in the stores and have hired additional staff to cope with increased demand.
“Additional goods have been moved to all stores and further stock will be added in the coming days.”
Woolworths Group, which has a 40 per cent stake in 2Entertain, a joint publishing venture with the BBC, is also likely to be placed into administration.

Pupils have star role in £400,000 supermarket reopening

PUPILS of Minehead First and St Michael’s First schools will take on star status next week when they perform the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially launch the £400,000 new look Co-op food store in The Parade, Minehead.
The children will receive £100 for each school from store manager Mark Jones as a ‘thank you’ after the opening on Thursday, October 16.
Mr Jones said: “As a community retailer, it is appropriate that we involve the community in our special events and we are delighted children from our local schools can play a central role in the relaunch of our store.”
The store will feature The Co-operative Group’s new identity, ‘The co-operative’, which aims to highlight improved service standards across its 4,500 outlets in the UK, including its travel, pharmacy, funerals, and bank branches, as well as its commitment to supporting local communities and ethical trading policies.
The refit has transformed the community store with modern décor, new fittings, and eco-friendly refrigeration, plus a more shopper-friendly layout.
It will offer a comprehensive choice, with an emphasis on fresh foods.
There will also be a wider selection of chilled beers and wines, while the Post Office, cash machine, lottery, and PayPoint services will be retained.
As the leading supermarket supporter of Fairtrade foods, The co-operative’s popular Fairtrade products will feature and the store will carry the retailer’s own health and beauty range with products that are not tested on animals.
In addition, shoppers will benefit from The co-operative’s policy on honest labelling, which gives the full facts about its food and drink products.
While all The Co-operative’s free plastic bags are fully degradable, customers will be encouraged to use a greener alternative such as The Co-operative Fairtrade cotton Bag for Life, which costs 99p or the plastic Bag for Life, priced at 10p, which the store will replace for free and then recycle.
The Co-operative Group also gives its customer members a share of its profits in cash.
Members can choose to keep the twice-yearly payouts or donate all or part of them to local worthy causes.
Mr Jones said: “We provide a much valued service and I am confident the new look store will better meet the daily food shopping needs of the local community.
“The transformed store will be a real asset. In addition, in the best traditions of The co-operative, it will make its contribution to community life.”