Woolworth’s is a big company, but small firms can learn from its demise. When it launched the retail chain was all about newness and fresh thinking.

You pick up stuff before you bought it (for the first time) instead of pointing at items behind the counter, there was a range of products instead of just a few and everything was dirt cheap.

Well today everyone’s doing that, and most do it better than Woolworth’s ever did.

Ironically, it is the niche operators bought by Woolworth’s US parent company that are doing well now – such as Foot Locker.

For the full story of Woolworth’s untimely end click here

Tips from a dealer

Thought you couldn’t learn anything from a career criminal? Think again – drug dealers are businesses too and they have a lot in common with legit firms like yours and mine. Sales, customers, cash-flow, it’s all there. This article explains more.