Eglu Go With 2m Run For Sale

[madchickenlady]

I work for Woolworths, and now that we've gone into administration things are really up in the air We've been told that we're staying open until after christmas, but other than that the info is very vague. Has anyone here ever worked for a company which went through administration? What happened?

[Guest]

Sorry I don't have any advice for you just some huggs as I know you must be feeling awful and worried.

 

I guess that maybe looking for a job sooner rather than later could be a good idea. Also one piece of advice I do have (oh I do have advice after all!) is that you should look upon this as an opportunity to change direction - think about what you REALLY want to do next and how you might take steps to do it.

 

I got made redundant in 2001 and it was being out of work that made me take the plunge and do my teacher training - it meant a drop in salary for the first year but then it jumped back up and I now have a job I love (well I didn't last year but that's a whole other story!). If I hadn't been made redundant I would never had plucked up the courage to do it.

[bluekarin]

I work for Woolworths, and now that we've gone into administration things are really up in the air We've been told that we're staying open until after christmas, but other than that the info is very vague. Has anyone here ever worked for a company which went through administration? What happened?

 

My uncle works for the Bournemouth store so he is very worried too. I really hope it will be alright for all of you. To have this news any time of the year is not good, but seems even worse when it's at Christmas time.

[Tessa the Duchess]

I am so sorry, it must be such a worrying time for you. As I understand it when a company is in administration it is different to being bankrupt. The administrators are trying to find buyers for the company and if they do then it is possible that it won't close, but maybe be pared down, so not all staff will lose their jobs. Even the government has stepped in to try and persuade the banks to ease up on Woolworths' debts, so it may not be all doom and gloom. I heard on the news this evening that both Currys and PC World are also in financial trouble Fingers crossed for you and your colleagues.

 

Tessa

[Redwing]

Tessa has hit the nail on the head here.

 

The administrators will take over the decision making for the company and will always try and get it out of the pickle its in.

 

This will include trying to relieve the debt burden first and trying to get the company back to 'working order' or inviting offers from other companies interested in buying the troubled one.

 

Fingers crossed for you x

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'm so sorry . It must be awful not knowing what's happening with your job .

 

I did hear James Caan (of Dragons Den) on the radio today saying that he was absolutely certain that Woolies would still be trading a year from now, with new management who would get things right this time.

 

I hope he's right for your sake and all the other employees.

[chickenanne]

As everyone else has said, administrators job is to run the company whilst looking to replace the current owners - ie sell it.

 

Woolies have profitable small high-street branches, but the big out-of-town stores really struggled. AThe trigger for the problems they now face now is that creditors could no longer get insurance against debts owed by Woolies (its common for companies to sell or insure debts, particualrly where they have a few big customers) and so asked Woollies to pay in advance. Woollies had to do this in order to get the pre-Christmas stock, but that left them really short of cash... and then sales didn't pick up as well as they hoped and difficulty in getting bank borrowings persisted.

 

Woolworths is a strong brandname, and the things they sell are short term - it's not like MFI where you put a deposit on an item to be delivered in several weeks time, which you expect to then have for several years. So people would still go in to Woollies and buy things without worrying about a lack of warranty / company disappearing before the order was completed.

 

To me this means that a decent chunk of Woolworths' business could still be profitable and therefore is perfectly saleable. I'm not an analyst or anything, but I do think that whilst you're right to be concerned you might find that the situation isn't as bleak as it initially seems.