Former High Street favourite Woolworths could return to towns across the country following a bid to buy the name of the iconic store.
Ex-director Tony Page has revealed he is attempting to revive the brand famed for its pick and mix sweets, top 40 singles and cut-price school clothes.
He claimed he would bring Woolies back in a "similar format" but would place stores more at the "heart of the communities" rather than major shopping centres.
"I am still emotionally attached to it," he told Daily Star Online , "I still think it has got a role in the future.
"I have contacted Shop Direct and said 'you're not using the brand anymore, would you consider giving it to someone who would?'"
Woolworths went into administration in 2008 after racking up nearly £400 million of debts, resulting in its 800 plus stores closing down.
Mr Page, former brand director, tried to buy the name after its collapse - selling his family home in the process - but his £10 million bid was trumped by Shop Direct.
The company, which owns Littlewoods and Very, then ran Woolies as a retail site, before closing it six years later and merging the name with its Very brand.
But now Mr Page believes Woolies has "effectively been put on ice", he is looking into buying the name, believing it could survive despite the ongoing casualties of the recession.
"They have taken the website down, so I'm curious now as to what might happen next because I still think the brand has got some propriety in spite of what happened in the past," he told Daily Star Online.
"I feel as though if the brand name was available it would still be a possibility to bring it back (to our high streets)."
He added: "I still absolutely think it would still be a physical retailer.
"I would want it to be much more a part of the community. The stores the reality used to do well were those that were at the heart of the community, rather than being in the big shopping centres.
"It is much easier to walk down the road than to order on Amazon."
He admits that he still carries the pain of Woolworths' collapse – which resulted in 27,000 job losses – and has a clearer idea on why it didn't survive.
"It was a huge disappointment when Woolies closed," he told us, "people had worked there for decades, and for them they had lost their careers, jobs and their livelihoods.
"It was traumatic, without a shadow of a doubt, and it would take half a day to explain why we couldn't survive.
"Fundamentally I think there were just some things that didn't work, such as larger shops in the wrong place.
"I strongly believe the core of Woolworths, however, was – and still could be – a strong and prosperous business.
"Although my wife would say I am mad and say 'why don't you let it go?'."
The former chief has yet to receive a response from Shop Direct but stressed: "I will keep trying".
Woolworths started out in the UK in 1909 as part of American company F.W Woolworth & Co which was established in 1879.
The first store in Britain was on Church Street in Liverpool and sold children's clothing, stationary and toys from the beginning.
It was in the mid-1920s when it took off, with stores opening every two to three weeks.
And by 1934 the 600th British Woolworth opened in Wellington, Surrey just four years after the 400th in Southport, Lancashire.
A major expansion programme saw the chain grow by more than 250 outlets between 1954 and 1958.
At the peak stores opened at the rate of one every four days, and by 1958 virtually every high street in Britain and Ireland had a Woolworths.
But in 1979 devastation struck when the flagship Woolworth store in Manchester was gutted by a major fire, killing 10 customers and colleagues.
All its stores closed for the final time from December 27 to January 8.
