Woolworths in the UK closed its last high street stores in early January 2009, with all 807 branches shut by around 5–6 January 2009.

Key dates at a glance

  • Woolworths entered administration in late 2008, starting the process that led to closure.
  • Store closures were phased: many shops shut between 27–30 December 2008, and the remainder in the first week of January 2009.
  • The final group of UK stores closed around 5–6 January 2009, marking the end of Woolworths on the British high street.

Clarifying which Woolworths

“Woolworths” can mean different things depending on the country, which is why dates can be confusing.

  • UK: Woolworths (often called “Woolies”) closed all high street stores by early January 2009.
  • USA/Canada: The original F.W. Woolworth dime stores in North America were shut in 1997, when the chain was finally wound down there.
  • Australia: Woolworths is a separate supermarket group and is still trading, so it has not “closed” in the same way at all.

Short recap

  • If the question “when did Woolworths close” refers to the classic British Woolworths shops, the answer is: early January 2009, with the very last stores closing around 5–6 January.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.