Woolworths, or Woolies as most people affectionately called it, was something different to everyone that shopped there.
The US-founded 'penny and sixpence' shopping institution was the must-visit Saturday store with plentiful counters that sold everything from food and drink, household goods, and toys, to the latest chart releases, clothes, DIY equipment and children's sweets. Glasgow had numerous stores down the decades, with the very first Woolies opening on Union Street way back in 1914.
Its popularity was instant, within a matter of years, other stores soon followed on Argyle Street, Sauchiehall Street, Charing Cross and pretty much every major thoroughfare in the city. A good number of Scotland's 81 Woolworth stores were located in Glasgow, with new outlets opening throughout the 20th century, including large stores at The Forge and Braehead.
Generations of Glasgow locals loved the variety of their local store and the company's unwavering commitment to providing affordable goods, which made Woolies' very sudden demise during the 2009 recession a rather bitter pill to swallow. We take a look at eight former Woolies stores from around the city, and reveal what has taken their place since the famous company's demise.
READ MORE: Half of British shoppers want Woolworths to return to the high street.
Union Street
Opening in 1914, the store at 62-70 Union Street was Glasgow's first Woolies and also one of the earliest to close. Considered "off-location", it shut down in 1971, but the building remains and, until this year, was a Poundland store.
The unit is awaiting a new lease of life.
Argyle Street
Woolies had two Argyle Street stores down the years. The first, at Nos 36-48, was the second Woolworth store in Glasgow when it opened in 1922.
This building was replaced in the 1960s with a new build that is now occupied by TK Maxx. A new flagship store for Argyle Street opened in 1994, and this former Woolies is now a Poundland.
Sauchiehall Street
Woolies opened up at 164-168 Sauchiehall Street in a beautiful purpose-built building in 1927. This store endured until 1984 and was heavily remodelled.
It is now home to a Marks & Spencer store.
Byres Road
Hillhead's flagship Woolies opened at 300-304 Byres Road in the 1960s. It's now the site of a Tesco Metro.
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Shawlands
In the 1960s, Woolworths opened a large store at 82-88 Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands, replacing a smaller outlet from 1936. The Shawlands shop continued until Woolies' demise in 2009 and is now a B&M store.
Dumbarton Road
Woolworth's tenth Glasgow store opened in September of 1956 at Nos 412-418 Dumbarton Road, Partick. After 2009, the unit was taken up by Poundland, but is currently sitting vacant.
The Forge
In 1999, Glasgow's first Woolworth's 'megastore', the Big W, opened at the Forge Retail Park. The giant store is now a Tesco Extra supermarket.
Braehead
Woolies moved into a huge store at Unit 1a on Level 1 of Braehead when the shopping centre first opened in the late 1990s. This unit is now home to a Primark.
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