Shops that have gone but not forgotten

[Vivana]

What shops do you miss that have closed down. Mine would have to be woolworths. I use to love going in there.

@PattyPan

Ooh I miss The Pier too. And Ottakar’s (bookshop) - they had fun stuff in ours as a kid like a rocking horse and a life size Dalek.

@Blacktothepink C&A are still going strong in Europe! It’s where I got my coat from.

@haliborange0verdose Timpsons hasn’t gone bust, I think there’s 3 in my town plus supermarket concessions!

Timpsons the shoe shop I meant, not the key cutting / shoe repair chain.

Others I've remembered:
Barratt's shoes
Mothercare
Early Learning Centre

@Maireas

I used to love Habitat. So modern! Cafetieres! Duvets!

There is still a bricks and mortar Habitat store in London and in Brighton. I've also shopped in Habitat in Madrid and Bilbao

And Rumbelows!

Jeffrey Rogers

@popshops

Past times was good for crap unusual Xmas gifts.

Past Times! They had some really good jewellery. Well, good in my teenage eyes.

Definitely Woolworths, I shopped in there all the time and they sold great children's clothes. Adams, great children's clothes there too.

Pier. I'm not sure how widespread they were but we got lovely furniture and stuff for the house there. And they were always lovely at Christmas.

Sainsburys owns the Habitat brand now, you can buy the stuff from them/Argos.

Early Learning Centre is still about too, there’s one in Westfield.

Owen Owen department store.

Lombok
I have some lovely things from them.

Why do people keep saying HMV? I was in there on Monday.
Dd would love Tammy girl if it were still around. Pound world has been missed locally in our shopping centre. Was handy for cinema snacks.

I miss Pier. I still have a few things from there but every now and then somethings gets broken :(. H keeps telling me to get over it but it was like a treasure cave in there. So gutted it’s gone.

Ours got replaced by a boring Lakeland.

I used to love Principles too, such good quality. Now it's one of the brands turned into overpriced tat by Sir Philip Green.

Come to Australia. We have Woolworths or Woolies as we call it.

Ide say la senza.
Cant seem to find any nice underwear now except Ann summers and tbh I cant see them going much longer either.

Is Australian Woolies the same as British Woolies was? As in same company and/or range of goods?

I thought in Australia it was a supermarket, but the UK Woolies was more a household shop, similar to what Wilko sells now, things like batteries, curtains, pick and mix, crisps, greetings cards, lampshades, that sort of thing.

I forgot about The Pier. Our local one was lovely and cosy and smelled of incense. I bought my vaguely ethnic looking bedspread for uni in there.

C&A -- the clothes were shit, but we had a big C&A in our town and when I was young I remember wandering around the racks of ski suits and brightly coloured polyester jumpers. I got all excited when I saw a C&A when I was on holiday last year.

Blockbuster was my favourite place as a kid and teenager. With so many streaming services, I feel we've lost the magic of going out and picking a movie. If it was terrible, tough shit! We've paid for it and you have to watch it anyway. The stores used to have a weird smell about them, like popcorn and B.O.

Blacklers in Liverpool. A wonderful shop (only people of a certain vintage will remember this). Yes to Owen Owen and Lewis's as well.

In London, Neal Street East in Covent Garden. I used to make Christmas stockings for my family members and stuff them with all sorts of weird and wonderful bits and bobs. Neal Street East was always my first stop for those random items. I once bought a 'grow your own Christmas tree' as a joke for my dad - literally a seed in a tiny little cardboard tub the size of a walnut. Said tree is still in their garden 30+ years later, now over 20 feet tall.

Oh and Yves Rocher. They only recently left the UK and I miss their shampoo. Can't even buy it from their website as they don't deliver to the UK!

C&A. We bought so much there and really miss it. We kitted ourselves out in skiing clothing, OH used to buy all his work suits, shirts etc there, I bought all my underwear, work dresses etc. We've all really struggled since it closed down. Just nowhere else compares with the ranges, sizing etc that they had.

They clearly saw the way the UK High Street/clothing market was going as they simply left the UK - they didn't go bust and are still operational in other countries. A couple of years ago, we came across one in Berlin on a weekend break and bought loads of stuff.

Am I being unrealistic in hoping that the management of C&A are watching the situation with Debenhams, Arcadia Group etc., and may swoop in to get some prime High Street space and return to the UK. They'd make a killing and would really fill the gap in the market.

So many great shops gone.
Is it because of over expansion ?
I loved Past Times
The Home Decor and Lighting Department in BHS.
The Pier - was thrilled it came to Dublin
Principles- had lovely clothes
Saxone shoes
Tie Rack
Next ( early days )
Adams and Mothercare.
Woolworths

Borders!
Woolworths

I used to live abroad, moved back last year, and there was Habitat and C&A in one of the local shopping malls.

I miss Tchibo; and Oil and Vinegar (though there is one in Inverness that posts me garlic oil to Cornwall!).

I miss Woolworths for school stuff, Principals for clothes, and Richards as well. I loved the mid range shoe shops - Dolcis, and the others mentioned.

I used to go to the East in Covent Garden whenever I was in London, but can't afford the prices now they are online! I miss Crabtree and Evelyn too.

The Pier, I have two mugs and a bowl from there I treasure them.
Yves Richer and Bourjois will now be down for holiday shopping, as and when we can travel again.
Prescriptive make up, I know it's still going but it used to be in most department stores worth every penny for perfect matching foundation to your skin tone. Also Kalyx was a great fragrance.

Dolcis,
Safeway, it had a crèche which I used to use when DS was young, you could put DC while you shopped