THEY became household names in a bygone era after revolutionising high street shopping by providing low-price products.
Now, however, MFI and Woolworths could be about to enter the history books after it was revealed last night that they were both going into administration.
When MFI opened almost 50 years ago, it revolutionised the way homes were furnished – and
at its peak it was believed one in three Sunday lunches was cooked in an MFI kitchen.
But, now it has been announced that the furniture giant has fallen victim to the slump in the housing market, and has gone into administration.
A similar fate was set for Woolworths last night, after years of struggling to compete with supermarkets and the internet.
Sources warned that its retail division was poised to go into administration, almost a century after it first opened.
The Woolworths group will not go into administration, however, as its Bertram Books and 2 Entertain – a publishing joint venture with BBC Worldwide – are self-funding.
MFI's former owner, Galiform, said the company had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators yesterday morning.
The company employs more than 1,000 people and runs more than 100 stores across the UK. MFI, which was founded in 1964, was set up by Noel Lister and Donald Searle. It was named Mulland Furniture Industries, after Mr Searle's wife's maiden name.
Over the next 30 years, it became the biggest furniture retailer in the UK with a value of £1 billion.
It was particularly successful during the 1980s when Margaret Thatcher sold off council houses, which were often spruced up using the good-value furniture.
However, its position as market leader came under threat with the growth of rival stores such as Ikea, B&Q and Homebase, causing sales to fall from £854 million in 2003 to £742 million in 2005. The firm was bought by Merchant Equity Partners for £1 in 2006.
Similarly, when Woolworths first opened for business in the UK almost a century ago, it was an instant success.
Queues formed for hours before the doors even opened and eager customers all but stripped the counters bare before the end of the day – with everything from glassware to tin toys flying off the shelves.
However, the early success was replaced with current woes faced by the debt-laden group, which has 800 stores across the UK.
Its first shop opened in Liverpool in 1909 as FW Woolworths, a subsidiary of its United States parent.
Everything was priced at sixpence (2.5p), as the store took advantage of mass production to keep prices cheap and establish itself as a major value retailer.
At one point a new store was emerging every 17 days, with everything from pick 'n' mix sweets to garden furniture sold at reasonable prices.
Woolies came under British ownership in 1982 and outlasted the US parent, which closed its final Woolworths stores in 1997.
The UK parent, Kingfisher – which still owns B&Q – floated Woolworths in 2001 as part of a demerger of its general merchandise businesses.
But in recent years shoppers have turned to supermarkets or the internet to gain better value, leaving the chain facing dramatic declines in sales. The stores made a loss of £72.5 million in the six months to 2 August. It is saddled with net debts of £295 million.
The full article contains 570 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
