A screen shot of the new look www.woolworths.co.uk.

UK - Following the closure of the last of the iconic UK brand Woolworths retail stores at the beginning of this year, Woolworths is back. However, it’s not longer a staple in the high street malls of Britain. 

Following its acquisition of the brand, Shop Direct Group last week relaunched the www.woolworths.co.uk website to consumers offering over half a million products to British families to buy online.

Months of market research resulted in the new site being developed around what British families say they love about “Woolies” and what they wanted the business to have back. The site is centered around what Woolworths describes as the four “best-loved” product categories: Toys, Kidswear, Entertainment and Party.

“Families wanted us to bring back Woolies as soon as possible, so that’s what we’ve
done. From acquiring the brand to launching it has only been 20 weeks; something
you could never achieve with a high street business but can do online. We’re aiming
to create a fun, family web experience which keeps on getting better and better,” Shop Direct Group chief Executive, Mark Newton-Jones said.

“We are launching today with a significantly bigger selection of products than would
have been sold in a Woolies high street store and better still, many of the product
categories will double in size between now and Christmas,” he added.

Three shops under one “roof” 
The new site has three shops in one, the Main Shop, Entertainment and Party. Each currently has its own online checkout; however these will be integrated in a few months.

The woolworths.co.uk Entertainment shop has hundreds of thousands of games, DVDs, blu-ray, CDs and books with weekly charts, exclusive promotions and great special offers, all available with free delivery.

Engaging families 
In a bid to engage families with Woolies updated image and strategy, Woolworths.co.uk has created a Very Important Families (VIF) club.

Registered VIF’s can receive perks including free movies on Saturday mornings in cinemas across the England, special exclusive movie screenings of the latest family blockbusters and the chance to win free Woolworths goodies.

“Woolies wants as many VIF’s as possible to register. We’d love families all over the country to join us and enjoy the benefits of free films and other treats together,” Newton-Jones said.

Logo update 
Woolworths.co.uk has brought back the recognisable Woolies red to the company logo but it has received an update for the digital age. The two OO’s of Woolies will change symbols depending on the product category represented, eg a red beach ball and die for the Main Shop, a pair of red headphones for the Entertainment shop and a yellow and red balloon for the Party shop.