Duncan Stephen

Article — 14 January 2009 — 1,234 words

The nasty side of human nature

Business — Personal — Social science — Society

The final month or so of working at Woolworths was without doubt the strangest. It was certainly an experience. The bright new posters, along with the masses of media publicity surrounding the problems Woolworths faced, attracted a different kind of customer. As friendly Woolies regulars browsed the aisles, the vultures started circling alongside them. I […]

Article — 13 January 2009 — 993 words

The beginning of the end

Business — Economics — Society

Work: Woolworths

On 5 November, a poster appeared in the staff area at Woolworths. “Remember remember the 5th of November”, it proclaimed. The copy went on to outline how Woolworths would celebrate 100 years on Britian’s High Streets on 5 November 2009, and to look out for the celebrations the company would be having throughout the year. […]

Article — 12 January 2009 — 1,056 words

Identity crisis

Business — Media — Personal — Society

Work: Woolworths

One widespread criticism of Woolworths was that its stores were in bad nick. There’s no question that a lot of buildings were old and hadn’t really been looked after properly. The labyrinthine stockrooms of the Leith store had to be seen to be believed! But I never saw Woolworths stores as particularly drab. What perhaps […]

Article — 11 January 2009 — 1,157 words

The blunder of Woolworths

Business — Personal — Society

Work: Woolworths

By the time I started working for Woolworths, the company was pushing its in-store ordering system big time. In Summer 2006, the Big Red Book was launched to encourage customers to make use of the ordering facility. As sales assistants, we were always encouraged to offer to order any items that weren’t in stock. Unfortunately, […]

Article — 10 January 2009 — 1,194 words

It wasn’t just the credit crunch

Business — Personal — Society

Work: Woolworths

One question that many of my friends have asked me over the past couple of months is, did I see it coming? For many, it was a shock that an institution like Woolworths could even be in mild difficulty, never mind on the brink of going out of business. But the honest answer to their […]

Article — 8 January 2009 — 1,282 words

Woolworths: Childhood memories and adult gripes

Business — Personal — Society

Work: Woolworths

I have felt very sad about the demise of Woolworths ever since the business began to unravel in front of my eyes around two months ago. I was not sad so much because of my job — I was planning on leaving after the Christmas period anyway. I was just sad to see Woolies go […]

Article — 7 January 2009 — 1,034 words

Woolworths as it was known and loved, and neglected

Business — Society

Work: Woolworths

In 1982, the British arm of Woolworths was separated from its US parent when it was bought by retail consortium Paternoster, later to become Kingfisher. It changed the direction of the company forever. According to the Woolworths Virtual Museum, BBC News reported on Woolworths being under British ownership for the first time against a backdrop […]

Article — 6 January 2009 — 771 words

Woolworths: The curiously British US-based company

Business — Society

Work: Woolworths

Today, the shutter came down for the final time at Woolworths Kirkcaldy, Store 1201. It was among the final group of branches to close. It is the end of an era. This institution had been a fixture in Britain’s High Streets for almost 100 years. The history of the original company set up by Frank […]

Article — 23 November 2008 — 533 words

Prices dropped at Woolworths

Business — Current affairs

Work: Woolworths

Update: This offer has been extended! It will now end on Sunday 30 November. This is great news if you’re unable to pop into Woolies until the weekend. Okay, first off, I know it’s a while since I posted on this blog. And I appreciate that this post represents a rather jarring change in tone. […]

Article — 1 November 2008 — 1,081 words

Happenings at Scotweb2

Business — Society — Web

I said that I had hoped to tweet a bit from Scotweb2. I am terrible at multitasking though so I only managed a miserly two, hurriedly posted during lunch. So instead I will write a report of what went on. First off there was a great talk by James Munro who works on an interesting […]

Article — 28 October 2008 — 203 words

Reading The Guardian in full

Media — Web

I have long been an advocate of full RSS feeds for reasons outlined in this post. I do, however, understand why most news outlets opt to keep partial feeds. News websites, unlike blogs, typically show you just the headlines and a short summary of each story on the front page — just like a partial […]

Article — 25 October 2008 — 299 words

The paradox of the paradox of voting

Economics — Politics

I wrote my dissertation about the paradox of voting, which is the problem that rational choice theorists have in explaining why people vote. You are more likely to be killed on the way to the polling station than affect the result once you’re inside it — so why vote? The puzzle interested me as soon […]