Posts Tagged ‘woolworths’

February 3rd, 2009

Woolworths goes online

So, Woolworths is to be reborn online. The Barclay twins, owners of Littlewoods / Shop Direct have bought the brand.  This reminds me of a quote attributed to Henry Parson Crowell, the founder of Quaker Oats when asked which part of the business he’d keep if he were asked to break it up and divest. “The name ‘Quaker Oats’” he is reputed to have said, “You can have everything else, the factory, the land, the machines, the stock, I’ll take the name ‘Quaker Oats’”. Even today companies and accountants argue about the value of brands, but for those with the vision to see it, it’s as clear today as it was in Henry Parson Crowell’s time - and he died in 1943.