Woolworths Group was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain Woolworths. It also owned other companies such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK, and book and resource distributor Bertram Books.
The Woolworths store chain was the main enterprise of the group. Originally a division of the American F. W. Woolworth Company until its sale in the early 1980s, it had more than 800 stores in the UK prior to closure. Woolworths sold many goods and had its own Ladybird children's clothing range, Chad Valley toys, and WorthIt! value range. The chain was the UK's largest buyer of Candyking "pick 'n' mix" sweets. It was sometimes referred to as "Woolies" by the UK media, the general public, and occasionally in its own television commercials. The British company also owned and ran F. W. Woolworth Ireland until 1984 and Woolworths (Cyprus) until 2003.
On 26 November 2008, trading of shares in Woolworths Group was suspended, and its Woolworths and Entertainment UK subsidiaries entered administration. Deloitte closed all 807 Woolworths stores between 27 December 2008 and 6 January 2009, resulting in 27,000 job losses. Woolworths Group plc entered administration on 27 January 2009, and it was officially dissolved on 13 October 2015.In February 2009, Shop Direct Group purchased the Woolworths trademark and internet address, which continued as a retail website until its closure in June 2015. As of April 2017, there are talks of Woolworths making a comeback to British high streets, as former director Tony Page wants to buy the Woolworths name from Shop Direct. However, as of August 2018, Page has been unable to get the rights.