Richard Littledale's
Views on the News: December 2008

     Cheap Humour      

129 years ago, Frank Woolworth, a sales assistant in a general store, opened his first Woolworths store in Pennsylvania. His business model was simple - to sell things at affordable prices, and the store soon became known as the 'five and ten store', with everything priced at five or ten cents. Thirty years later, as a successful businessman, he visited London, and concluded that 'I believe a good penny and sixpence store, run by a live Yankee, would be a sensation here'. History has proved him right, and over the years Woolworths has become part of the high street landscape in thousands of towns and cities throughout the British Isles.

The seismic shifts in the global economy, however, have sent a shockwave right across the Atlantic, which has brought waves lapping at Woolworths' doorstep. Within the past month it has been rumoured that the entire Woolworths chain (debts and all) can be snapped up for the sum of £1. Financial sharks are already circling with the scent of blood in their nostrils.

When I visited a Woolworths store recently, it was its usual scene of pre-Christmas mayhem. The aisles were full of buggies with whining children, the shelves were messy where dozens of people like me had mauled them, and the checkout queue was at least half a mile long. When at last I reached the head of the queue, seeking to lighten the mood, I joked with the cashier that perhaps I could buy everything in the shop for £1. She was too polite to do anything but smile, although in retrospect it was surely a joke in very poor taste.

For the shopper, desperate times mean attractive prices. For the staff, though, those prices may mean that their salaries, and even their continued employment are in danger. When a whole chain of stores can be sold for £1, how much are the staff worth? The life of a shop assistant in Walmart last week was clearly worth very little, when he was trampled to death by shoppers intent on grabbing the best bargains.

To suggest that we should boycott Christmas shopping altogether is neither realistic nor helpful to the economy. However, as Christians we should carry a different attitude into the shops with us. We should rein in excesses, since Christmas is all about God's generosity rather than ours. Also, we should recognise that the most precious thing in any shop is the people - whether staff or shoppers.