Does Woolco still exist anywhere?

'Fraid not. The chain ended in the US in 1982. In Canada, most remaining stores were sold in 1994 to Wal-Mart, some however ending up as Zellers stores.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolco

Growing up in Toronto, I have Woolco memories from when I was growing up. Prior to a few days before my 6th birthday, I lived in the Jane-Finch area, and the nearest discount department store was Towers (a similar Canadian chain of which I have warm memories, I referred to it in a recent post) at Jane-Finch Mall (then a decent mall, nowadays full of stores selling cheap kitzch). Then we moved to the Yonge and Finch area, and soon started going to the Towne and Countrye Mall (now Centrepoint Mall), where there was a Woolco for years. However, my first memory of a Woolco is from about the same time, but from another location, I think it was at Keele and Lawrence, where there is a Wal-Mart now.

I used to have Woolcrest brand magic markers, and wondered why it didn't say Woolco but Woolcrest on them. The picture on the forum link below shows that my memory of them being made in Czechoslovakia is correct:

I never been to a Woolco in my lifetime besides a Woolworth's near me house that was probably one before (my parents probably been to them). Those places were fun in their own right for the little nuances i don't see anymore. Like lunch counters, hamsters and parakeets sold in pens (and near the toy section no less, don't see why they thought that was a good idea), and that thought of getting something that was obviously cheap or their own store brands at that. I still have a CD player somewhere in my house that was bought there under their "Ultra" name. :lol:

Many stores often come up with brandnames like that. Used to be very commonplace up to the 1990's. Interesting they had those markers made in an Eastern Bloc country.

80sVidKid

I never been to a Woolco in my lifetime besides a Woolworth's near me house that was probably one before (my parents probably been to them). Those places were fun in their own right for the little nuances i don't see anymore. Like lunch counters, hamsters and parakeets sold in pens (and near the toy section no less, don't see why they thought that was a good idea), and that thought of getting something that was obviously cheap or their own store brands at that. I still have a CD player somewhere in my house that was bought there under their "Ultra" name. :lol:

Many stores often come up with brandnames like that. Used to be very commonplace up to the 1990's. Interesting they had those markers made in an Eastern Bloc country.

Yes! I remember the section with the parakeets chirping away in the Woolco at the Towne and Countrye/Centrepoint Mall. One of the most typical memories of that store.

Though it belonged to the Eastern Bloc until 1989, Czechoslovakia was a very industrialized country with a tradition of quality production. Fine hats, coats that were sold under a British label, and Dunlop raquets were made there, for example.

As for the magic markers, I wonder if they were not made by the Koh-I-Noor company, a respected Czech manufacturer of art supplies.

Another memory of Towers has come back to me: they had these T-shirts or Polo shirts of a brand called IIRC simply Foxes. On the breast they had a small cloth logo like a running fox (think of the Lacoste alligator), which logo came in different colors. I don't remember seeing those shirts anywhere else. I wonder if it was some manufacturer that catered to Towers.