Berlin Trip : Woolworth in Germany

You learn something every day…. I didn’t realise that Woolworth, although I find it hard not to write Woolworths, has such a large presence in Germany. Although I associate the name with a failed UK retailer, it seems to be a thriving and expanding discount retailer in Germany. The story of this whole arrangement begins with Frank Winfield Woolworth, who pioneered the ‘five-and-dime’ concept in the late nineteenth century in the United States. This success crossed the Atlantic in 1926, with the first German Woolworth store opening in Bremen and the chain grew rapidly, becoming a familiar presence in German towns and cities. However, the German arm diverged from its American parent company in 1998, becoming an independent entity following a management buyout. This move proved crucial to its survival, as the original F.W. Woolworth Company declared bankruptcy in 1997 and things all became a bit sub-optimal everywhere for them.

Despite this newfound and exciting independence, Woolworth Germany faced its own challenges. In 2009, the company filed for insolvency, burdened by debt and increased competition. Since then, it’s had a series of buy-outs, financial issues and corporate investors, but it has pulled through and they now have over 700 stores in Germany and are aiming for over 1,000. Since 2021, they also own the rights to the Woolworth name in the UK and Ireland, although they don’t seem particularly engaged with opening stores at the moment although they haven’t ruled it out. They are though looking to increase the number of stores in Poland, so maybe there will be a revival of the brand in the UK at some point…