Woolie's

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The biggest music retailer in the country! (Might be Wal-Mart in the US, I don't know.) It would be silly to think this doesn't affect the industry in a big way. Do people who buy CDs primarily at Woolworth's just buy anything that's on sale there? Does anyone here buy CDs mainly at supermarkets? If there's anyone out there who still gets worked up over corporate sponsorship and TV shilling then how does that compare with propelling CDs into mass consciousness by using them as loss leaders for microwave dinners? Are most supermarket-CD purchasers aware that anything else is on the market? Do they care? This interests me.

― dave q, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

New pricechopping answers

― dave q, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I buy an increasing number of CDs from supermarkets, esp Asda. If it's a major-label pop act it'll be cheaper there than anywhere save dodgy Mr CDs on Berwick Street, and I can't get my girlfriend to drive me to Mr CDs on the excuse that we need some milk.

― Tom, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Woolies is the GUVNOR I woz in there buyin Christmas prezzzziz for Lee and Tracy not that I eva gonna see em at Xmas cos Sharren she keep em aht my sight but got Tweenies toothbrush and some cod liver oil for me gout and there was Craaahn Dulux paintin for the graftin tiles n that n I got NAH THAT'S MUSIC 50 is all them modern style fuckin noise if you asks me NAH MUSIC 1 must have bin mastepiece as wouldv had all classics of old Swingin Blue Jeans HIPI HIPI SHACK and Sandy Show omigod wot i wanted to do wif her fet when ther woz no shuz on quick oh shit aht of Kleenex just have to use Izal then wun I?

― Chingford Tor Ascender, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I bought the new Madonna comp from Tesco the other day, which was the first time I've ever bought from a Supermarket. They have the 3-CD Motown collection at a good price too, and I might get that on my next supermarket run.

Ocassionally Woolies has something good in a sale - last one I bought was the JoyDiv "Live At Preston" album for £3.99.

― Dr. C, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Woolie's is actually a good bit more expensive than most supermarkets - I paid £12 for the Five album there and Asda had it for a tenner, how I wept and gnashed my teeth.

There was another question about corporate infiltration. I would shop at an independent record shop if Oxford actually had one (or does it?).

― Tom, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Tom, what about that Shifty Disco shop?

― dave q, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The only ones I know of are Massive Records (darnce - may well have shut actually), and Polar Bear which had only about 5 records the last time I went in.

But a quick websearch shows you may well be right. Blimey I'm ignorant.

― Tom, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Wot Shifty Disco shop?

― RickyT, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

As of last Saturday, there's obviously something opening across from Glos Green bus depot where Chalkys used to be, but I can't tell whether it's going to be a record shop or not. No shop at the bottom of George Street ever lasts, anyway, except Jessops.

But live in LONDON now so can go to Rough Trade, Ray's Jazz Shop, Selectadisc, Sister Ray etc. etc. so YAH BOO SUCKS!

Actually I was doing that anyway, but never mind.

Why are HMV and Virgin shops outside of central London so skeletal, stock-wise?

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Chalky's is the one I was thinking of, is that no longer?

― dave q, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sainsburys is good for chart CD's as any Lixi know.

£9.99 for single, £13.99 for double albums, don't forget your Reward card. Pick them up with your weekly shop. Beats driving into town, paying for parking, walking to local indie shop only to find they didn't bother ordering any as they would rather be seen to be specialising in dance 12"'s

― David, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Chalky's went a couple of years back. Some awful hybrid of a shop called Something For The Weekend popped up in its place, which made V- Shop look like Trader Vic's (ace record shop in Boston) in comparison.

Strange that the best-stocked record emporium in Oxford now appears to be bloody Borders!

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Border's is nice and open late too BUT no singles and nothing much beyond the Mojo-endorsed. "Well-stocked" in my current book = "Has the 23 Skidoo re-releases".

― Tom, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I had a conversation with someone over the weekend about the fact that london is out of touch with the rest of the UK because there are no branches of Woolworths in the center of town.

Woolies sells 90% of its singles on saturday morning doesn't it ? buy CD, lottery ticket , go home , watch blind date.

― jk, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

There's quite a big Woolies in Edgware Road (Marble Arch end) if that counts as central London.

Tom: reason Borders in Magdalen St has no 23 Skidoo reissues is 'cos I bought the only copies they did have before leaving town. Sorry!

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

ROAR!

― Tom, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Is my memory playing David Blaine-style tricks on me, or did Woolworths once have a fine back-catalogue selection (particularly on cassette)? A decade ago, when I was mithering one particular postgrad chum about the joys of 4AD, he finally capitulated over the Easter hols and managed to find every Muses and Cocteaux album I'd been banging on about - on tape in Woolies.

― Michael Jones, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Don't really have any comparison in Canada as far as I can tell, apart from Wal-Mart, but the selection there is so bleak that I wouldn't even consider it. May be good for the people who really really heart the top 40, but that's certainly not me. Here I guess our major choice is between the indie record stores and the large chains. HMV is the biggest chain in the country, I think, though there are a few nipping at the heels (Sam the Record Man was a biggie, though they just went bust and only have a few stores open, if that.)

I tend to split my shopping between the two. Major label stuff I might get at the HMV downtown, mostly because it's got the most comprehensive selection. But if I'm looking for something indie, you always have a better chance of finding it at the indie places, at a much better price too, oddly enough. Here in Toronto, Rotate This has the best selection of indie stuff, both vinyl and CD. I also like a place called Soundscapes because while it doesn't have the BIGGEST selection, it has an extremely well-focused selection. A lot of other people I know swear by Penguin, though I've had less luck there than they seem to. I still try to get some of my major label stuff at the smaller places, too, just to make sure they stay alive. That's my biggest problem with the Wal-Mart/supermarket thing, really, is that they don't need your money, and the smaller places generally know more about music and care about it, and I always feel like rewarding them with my $$$ because of that. Of course, I am not hurting enough financially that the 2 or 3 bucks extra I might spend at Soundscapes will kill me, and I realize that not everyone has the same luxury.

― Sean Carruthers, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I could be mistaken about this, but Woolworth's, once a nation-wide chain of department stores selling mostly inexpensive goods, is *out of business* in the US. I haven't seen one in years, but I do remember most of them had grand old buildings. I was kind of surprised to hear they're still around in the UK. It's possible they have just scaled down to the point of invisibility here, though.

― Sean, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

That's right, because we (Canada) had them too. I'd almost forgotten.

By the way, Sean (Carruthers that is) do you know what's happened to the Tower store at Queen and Yonge? Is it totally gone or just moved elsewhere? I was up there last week and was surprised to see that Sport Chek outlet in there instead.

― Kim, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Great disappearing regional independent chains 1: Falcon Records, once a South Coast institution (I actually discovered Momus there: decide for yourself whether that's a good thing or not), now disappeared from both Weymouth (went under when MVC arrived) and Poole (HMV opened opposite).

Borders in Bournemouth had a pretty good selection but I found myself thinking much the same thing as Tom: there were a few pretty good places on the Old Christchurch Road from what I remember.

― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sean: most of the Woolworth's stores I know of in North America became Woolco at some point. The Woolco stores we had in Canada all got gobbled up by Wal-Mart.

Kim: Tower ist kaputsky at Queen and Yonge, and it's not surprising with the way things were going there. The DVD selection kept getting sparser and sparser, and there was never any price advantage. I did find a couple of Momus CDs there that I couldn't find anywhere else, but that was the last purchase I made. I *tried* to take advantage of their closing-out sale, but they just didn't have anything that was worthwhile. Sadly, it looks like the Yonge-street Sam's is in much the same state--even if they did have another big clearance sale, there really wouldn't be a whole lot left worth picking up.

― Sean Carruthers, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'd heard that they weren't actually going to close that original Sam's location. If they are, then I'm truly sad.

― Kim, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My understanding is that they're keeping it open long enough to liquidate the stock from the other stores. I hope they keep it open as well, because it's truly a landmark. But they have to start getting new stock in again, or it'll still suck like it kind of does now.

― Sean Carruthers, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one year passes...

We used to have Woolworth's here in Puerto Rico when I was but a wee lad. Matter of fact, I bought my first record at one. It was a Menudo comp. :B Hey! They used to be big!

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Monday, 23 June 2003 01:58 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

Was going to start a new thread but i figured I'd do a Search first.

buying your first records at Woolworths...Classic or Dud??

― danny boy, Tuesday, 20 December 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

Dunno about 1st records, i can't remember that far back. But i do remember when i was 9 or 10 i got the Ghostbusters 7" single from Woolworths in Ayr and it was a ltd edition pop up sleeve. I thought it was the most fantastic thing ever for the rest of that week.

I think the 1st single i ever bought with my own money was either from Woolies or John Menzies in Hamilton, and it would've been a madness single. Either 'Grey day'or 'Embarrassment'.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)

I must've been 6 or 7 .

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 17:23 (twenty years ago)

woolies as the first place for me .. there was no other place in Ilkley where i was growing up .. the first proper album was probably Boomtown Rats - Fine Art of Surfacing on cassette quickly followed by anything by Madness. and from that moment my life was nver the same again.

― mark e (mark e), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 17:33 (twenty years ago)

I mainly buy my stuff either on the net or on one of my trips to Nottingham or London as I don't have much save Wollie's, Smith's and the odd HMV or Virgin near me. Woolie's can deliver a bargain on mainstream back catalogue stuff if you're willing to look every so often. I got the Jaxx's Remedy in there for £3 I think and some Dylan too. It's better than Smith's that's for sure.

― Nick H (Nick H), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 19:59 (twenty years ago)

In Hamilton now there's no record shops so its either Woolies/Smiths or Supermarkets. It's pretty dire for a large town.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

They certainly get more of my custom since all the MVCs started vanishing. Have they closed completely country-wide?

― Nick H (Nick H), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 20:29 (twenty years ago)

There are still some MVC's, the one in Perth is still open. MVC as a chain was sold off by Kingfisher or whoever owns Woolies these days. I used to work in Woolies, the selection went downhill in the time i worked there, but even before then they'd really cut back on the back cat over the previous few years. Still got the occasional good bargain, though.

― Michael Lambert (Michael Lambert), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 23:25 (twenty years ago)

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