Dorchester's famous new store

Wellworths - how one Dorchester Store turned things around

Despite what we might all have read in the news about the global recession there have been many good news stories. One such event has been taking place in the Dorset town of Dorchester.

Earlier in the year, Woolworths went into administration and finally closed all of its 200 stores in the UK. The store had been synonomous with choice and affordability but on November 26, 2008 Woolworths Group plc announced that they were in too much debt to maintain their outgoing payments. The remaining British Woolworths stores closed by January 6, 2009, with the loss of almost 30,000 jobs. Given that the Woolworths name had been part of almost every British high street since 1878, the event only reinforced how bad the recession was going to get.

But the closure of the stores was a catalyst for one budding entrepreneur. At the time of closure, Claire Robertson was the store manager of the Dorchester branch, having worked her way up from Saturday girl over the last eighteen years. Despite the poor performance of the overall Woolworths Group, the Dorchester store had proved popular and profitable. So with some trepidation Claire approached the current owners and managed to secure investment to re-launch the store under a new name - Wellworths. What was even more exciting is the fact that she also managed to secure funding for the positions of the existing staff.

Wellworths is Born

On Wednesday 11th March 2009, the new Wellworths Store Dorchester was officially opened. Leading the launch was BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans who had been following Claire's progress on his radio show. He was so keen to open the new store he even offered to bring his own ribbon and scissors. The store had been besieged from the earlier hours by reporters, SKY TV and BBC News and within moments of opening, it was mobbed by over 500 fans and shoppers

Almost three months on and Claire has indeed kept to her promise of keeping the famous Pick 'n' Mix sweet display which seems to be going down well with the locals. The store also stocks toys, home and kitchen items, textiles and seasonal products and the open plan layout makes shopping with kids and pushchairs very easy.

The story of a former Woolworths shop employee taking over the old store on South Street and re-employing the laid-off staff has captured the imagination of the world’s media. Although the first few days at the store were indeed manic, Wellworths now appears to be firmly established. The national media attention has started to die down a little, but the Dorchester townfolk have received the reincarnated store with open arms. The popularity of the store is proving a major local tourist attraction. In fact there are now Wellworth tours from further afield, just to allow tourists to take in the site of this great recession-beating news story.

Claire has shown what one woman's determination can achieve and the impact it can have on a local community.

Visit Dorchester and experience how Wellworths has captured the hearts of the nation.