How revealing that much of the coverage about the possible demise of Woolworths in Britain has focused on nostalgia.

Like everyone, I have a stack of Woolies memories. They go back to the late 1960s, when we were living in Whitton, Middlesex. I am sure the Woolworths in that typical London suburb had gas lights in reserve in case of power cuts! (I also remember a Victor Value store just down the road, which was taken over by Tesco soon after.) When we moved back to Cardiff in 1971, I was enthralled by the huge Woolies in Queen Street, which sold loose biscuits in the mezanine floor. I have happy memories of buying 'Project Books' – a Milk Marketing Board education initiative – for just 10p a time there in the 1970s. We were amazed when Woolworths sold that store to British Home Stores in 1985 – how could a retail giant move out of Cardiff city centre?

I also remember Woolworths brief venture into superstores, called Woolco, as I bought a few cassettes in Woolco's Oadby store when I went to university in Leicester in 1982.

Happy memories. But time moves on, and I have rarely spent more than small change in Woolworths in 25 years. If anyone is brave enough to buy the retailer, they will need to find a more convincing reason to shop there than nostalgia.