Shop Direct to relaunch Woolworths online

SHOP Direct, the Speke-based home shopping group, has bought the Woolworths name and is to relaunch it as an online store.

It bought the name,along with childrenswear brand Ladybird, for an undisclosed sum and will launch the online store this summer.

Mark Newton-Jones, Shop Direct chief executive said: “Woolworths is a much-loved brand that engenders huge affection among British consumers and is an important part of the country’s retail heritage.

“This is great news and we are confident that Woolworths, as an online brand, will once again prosper and, quite rightly, stay at the heart of British retailing.”

The company is asking Woolworths customers to visit the woolworths.co.uk website and register what they’d like from the new online store.

Woolworths, which had 815 stores, went into administration at the end of November after struggling under the weight of £385m of debt. Administrator Deloitte was unable to find a buyer for the firm and launched a closing-down sale in December.

Shop Direct has seen online sales surge in recent years. Last week it revealed plans to cut hundreds of call centre jobs because customers were increasingly ordering goods online, rather than by telephone.