Woolworths is probably the highest profile UK High Street store to go out of business as a result of the worsening economy.
Deloitte is handling the winding down process for the business (expected to be completed by Saturday 3 January) and will be selling off stores situated in some of the best retail spots in the UK. [Hello, Tesco, et al?]
In the midst of the collapse of one of the oldest retailers in the UK, Travolution readers will no doubt remember how Woolies entered the world of online travel almost two years ago to the day.
The Woolies website created its own travel channel, provided as a white label by Wefly, containing the usual array of facilities for booking flights, hotels, package holidays and car hire.
This white label will be no more as the Woolies website was pulled on the day Deloitte stepped in as administrators.
A call into Deloitte earlier this week, who by their nature and the role they are playing are frsutratingly matter of fact about absolutely everything, revealed only a few nuggets:
* The trading relationship between Woolies and Wefly ended the moment the administrators stepped in and the site closed down.
* Any cross-promotion credits - such as store credit vouchers given as a result of buying travel products online - will be null and void once retail outletts close and therefore consumers should claim any monies from the adminitrators.
Now some might wonder how much Wefly has lost out as a result of the collapse of Woolies?
Most would probably say not that much - Woolies was hardly a giant of the High Steet with regards to its online presence and therefore the white label was probably not the biggest revenue driver. Wefly, let us remember, also powers the Asda travel channel.
However, it is worth looking at how many of the UK High Street and online retailers have online travel channels and who is providing the functionality for them.
This sample is based in part on those appearing in the IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops list for November 2008 and a number of other retail lists.
* Tesco Travel (provided by lastminute.com)
* John Lewis's Greenbee (Expedia and Cox & Kings)
* Asda Travel (Wefly)
* Orange Shop (Kayak)
* Waitrose's Greenbee (Expedia and Cox & Kings)
* Aldi Travel (On Holiday Group)
* The Co-Op (Co-Operative Travel)
* WH Smith Travel Store (Wefly)
* The Disney Store (Traveltainment)
Rumours abound that Sainsbury's is also developing an online travel service.
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