Taken from MSN Money:

High street brand Woolworths is to be relaunched as an online store after the name was bought by the UK's biggest internet and home shopping retailer.

Shop Direct - which also owns brands such as the Littlewoods catalogue - plans to launch Woolworths online in the summer following the deal to buy the brand for an undisclosed sum.

The move brings the famous brand under the control of Sir David and Frederick Barclay, whose interests also include the Telegraph newspaper group.

Woolworths was forced into administration late last year after plunging sales and mounting debts, costing 27,000 jobs. The last of its 807 stores closed in January.

But Shop Direct, which has also bought Woolworths' childrenswear brand Ladybird, said it was confident that the store would "stay at the heart of British retailing" as an online presence.

Chief executive Mark Newton-Jones said: "Woolworths is a much-loved brand that engenders huge affection among British consumers and is an important part of the country's retail heritage."

Woolworths first opened its doors in the UK 100 years ago this year. The move would revive the brand for future generations, Mr Newton-Jones added.

Details of the new product ranges to be offered will be announced in the next few months, the company said.

Shop Direct employs around 10,500 people and has around five million customers. Its other well-known catalogue brands include Kays and Marshall Ward.

Woolworths appointed Deloitte as administrators in November after efforts to rescue the business failed. Deloitte was unable to find a buyer for the firm and launched a closing-down sale in December.

It's nice Woolworths is back but I miss the high street

woolies was an awful shop and I am glad they closed tbh

I sort of agree with jivealex. There's no point of having it as they don't serve any purpose, because Wilkensons and a few other places cover it better i.e. prices and quality.

Still a shame to see a shop approaching its 100th birthday, closed though.

We'll see a lot more retailers face the same fate this year... if not, a huge scale down. Whilst Woolwoths might 'live on', it will never be the same again. Essentially they have bought a brand and nothing else.

I miss Woolies, I bought my famous Nemo pencilcase there

How it is good in more than one way is beyond me. The result is still the same - 27,000 people have still been made redundant by all this, lost their jobs. That is in no way a good thing. Besides, the only thing "living on" is the lettering of the name - Woolworths. That's it.

Agreed, going to Woolworths online after it has closed in the high street
is like turning up for a funeral party after everyone's gone and they've eaten
all the pick and mix!

Pick and mix at a funeral? Dude you for sure gotta come over here and work as a funeral party organiser. You'd really liven things up!

I think that's the one thing that belonged to Woolies; their pick n mixes!

Wilkensons were cheaper.

yes

There's a woman somewhere in the SW [Maybe Gloucestershire?] who misses Woolworths so much she wants to buy their old branch in her town and call it 'Wellworths'... On the regional news.

This was on Radio 2 this afternoon... apparently the banks that are helping them set this up are dropping all charges and radio 2 are going to open it to get business rolling.