Everything must go, they said – and it did!

Tuesday 30th December 2008, 2:59PM GMT.

JERSEY’s Woolworths store closes today – and Islanders have taken the ‘everything must go sale’ literally and cleared the shop of anything that was not nailed down.

Shoppers hungry for bargains bought everything from cut-price CDs and DVDs to whole racks of Christmas cards for just £5. And when the stock was cleared, shoppers bought the shelves and display cabinets on which the goods once stood.

Everything in the store was up for sale after administrators failed to find a buyer for the high street giant and ordered the phased closure of all the company’s 813 stores. By late yesterday the shop, which opened in King Street in 1922, was reduced to selling off fixtures and fittings and furniture from its office.

The first floor of the shop was blocked by two large tables which had been sold and were awaiting collection, after shoppers stripped the level bare last week. On the ground floor shoppers, some of whom simply came to say goodbye, mingled with businessmen and tradesmen who were stripping the shop of shelves, signs and check-outs.

John Leggett, store manager, said: ‘It was sad to see it all go, especially as we have spent so long building it all up. The staff were in good spirits and morale remained high to the end. We have been selling off pretty much everything during the last few days. We’ve had a lot of interest from local businesses as well as individual Islanders.’

Read the full story in the Jersey Evening Post. Click here for subscription details. Individual editions are also available online.

1
Jason K Cronin

December 30, 2008 at 11:34 pm

The Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 has failed the real people of Jersey once again. The Unions said that it favoured the employers rather than the employees, this employment law that was modelled on a failed Thatcherite economics.
Perhaps the States of Jersey or monies in the rainy day fund should provide the recently redundant Woolworth employees redundancy package that they would be guaranteed by the UK employment law?

Report abuse
2
Scott

December 31, 2008 at 9:28 am

Its outrageous that all the former Woolworths staff were not told till the doors closed that they would not get redundancy.

I took years and years to get the new employment laws created and passed in Jersey and look what we got.
The employee has no rights and the Employer can do what they like…

I was going to write a bit of trash about the states but everyone already knows how badly represented we are…

I feel for the former Woolworths staff and hope that they get the compensation they truly deserve in both Jersey and Guernsey.

If the states are unwilling to help maybe John Leggett can organise a fund we can all donate to and help give the staff the redundancy they deserve.

Report abuse
3
Mark G

December 31, 2008 at 9:45 am

The issue with redundancy pay does not surprise me as this is Jersey. But even in the UK you have to be working for 2 years or more to recieve any payout and even then its only a week per year worked. Not worth shouting about.

Report abuse
4
Andy Jsy

December 31, 2008 at 10:30 am

I think it’s a tough call to say the employment law has let the staff down.

This is a company that has effectivly gone bust. No money left. If there’s no money in the till, then how can they pay redundancy. t’s the fault of the creditors who demand preferential payment, e.g. lease owners etc. They bring in administrators to get as much money back so they can be paid, and unfortunatly staff are pretty much at the bottom of the list.

I don’t think the rainly day fund should pay out for woolies staff, as there have been plenty of other companies on the island who have gone bust and left staff high and dry. There needs to be a strategy in place to cover this scenario. Bring in unemployment benefit or something similar.

Jersey has to wake up to the fact that the bubble has burst, and 100% employment is a think of the past.

Report abuse
5
Pip Clement

December 31, 2008 at 7:20 pm

It is interesting to note that Pitman, Southern and le Claire were there to offer sympathy and support for the staff at this difficult time.
No sign of anyone from the Council of Ministers, maybe Alan MacLean should have turned out as Minister for Economic Development.
Many islanders will sympathise with the staff and know some of them personally from having shopped there for so long.
If the CoM treat them shabbily then I am sure this will be remembered at the next election.

Report abuse
6
Darren Le Geyt

January 1, 2009 at 9:10 am

Sadly another example of out-dated Jersey Laws on employment. The next thing that we will hear is hollers about how many people have the nerve to claim for assistance.

Jersey needs to choose now, whether to put proper employee protection in place or just react to the markets. If it is the later, then it should also apply to the States and finance industry workers at all levels.

If you have not woken up yet Jersey and the rest of the world is in a majour recesion

Darren Le Geyt

Report abuse
7
Moi

January 1, 2009 at 6:32 pm

who bought the Basil Brush and Bugs Bunny electric rocking horse rides??? I wanted those!! ) Good memories

Report abuse