Australians have revealed the brands that were once ‘the highlight of a visit to Westfield’ that no longer exist – and which just happened to ‘fade away without anyone paying much attention’.
From Granny May’s, the country’s first ‘out-there’ stationary store – known for its scented erasers and ‘the only card corner for adults’ to Sanity which ‘withdrew into oblivion with a whimper rather than a bang’.
The stores can be found on a popular Reddit thread that also mentions Decore Shampoo – best known for its risqué ad and annoying tune.
“All the millennials here will immediately recognize the jingle from the TV commercial, but the actual product hasn’t been on the shelves for a long time,” one Reddit user wrote after someone mentioned the hair care brand.
Australians have revealed the brands that were once ‘the pinnacle of going to Westfield’ that no longer exist – including stationary giant Granny May’s
“Dec or eh eh eh Dec or eh eh,” came another.
And even more agreed with the comments about Sanity’s disappearance.
‘Sanity in Hobart (Northgate) only closed this year! I agree the brand died a slow death,” said one person.
Copperart was next on the list – and dozens of people admitted they hadn’t realized they weren’t there until they read the list.
In 1999, the popular store started a major rebranding: from Copperart to HomeArt.
The brand had 165 stores across Australia in its prime, but struggled in 2014 and went bankrupt in 2015.
‘I loved Copperart! “I was just a kid, but they always had stuff like that that was so horrible it was amazing,” one person said.
‘I was one of those kids who collected porcelain dolls. Copperart always had nice ones,” said one woman.
Sunnyboy ice blocks were next on the list – and many complain of unfulfilled cravings for the schoolyard treat.
They were discontinued in 2016 due to declining demand.
Decore – the shampoo brand known for its catchy jingle and risqué shower scenes is also gone
Starburst lollipops have also been ‘completely discontinued’ in Australia – with the brand announcing it would be withdrawing its lollipops from shelves in June 2022.
Mars-Wrigley – the parent company – noted at the time that it was a “long-term decision” and not a “short-term viral marketing strategy.”
It seems fans still haven’t recovered.
“I’m still mad that the jelly beans are gone. They were so good,” one said.
Fantales are also gone – although there was an announcement at the time, it seems a lot of people missed it.
‘I only heard about this recently on Reddit. It was a bad day to have internet,” one person said.
Red Earth, a store that sold all natural body washes and makeup ‘similar to the Body Shop’, was also on the list.
“That was huge and disappeared from the face of the earth around 2005,” one woman added.
‘I had the best red earth tinted lip balm. I’ve never been able to find another one like this. Mine fell out of my jacket pocket while walking home from the bus stop and I never found it. I’m still mourning it,” said another.
Pizza Haven was also on the list.
Sanity was also on the list – and many laughed at its slow fade into obscurity
“At their peak, some servos even sold freshly baked Pizza Haven pizzas. They’ve all since switched to barista coffee, which is useless when I’m bewildered and hungry,” one person said.
The popular restaurant opened in 1984. It was sold to Eagle Boys in 2008 – and then sold to Pizza Hut in 2016 – with the latter acquisition seeing all stores rebranded.
The New Zealand branch of the brand was purchased by Dominos in 2005 and quickly rebranded.
Some people remembered electronics stores as Tandy.
‘As a kid it was one of my favorite shops to just browse around and look at tech stuff. I couldn’t even tell you when they just disappeared,” one man said.
The popular store was bought by Woolworths Group in 2010 – and was phased out within a year.
‘They were ultimately owned by Woolworths next door to Dick Smith. The stores were all rebranded under the Dick Smith brand in 2009, a few years before Dick Smith’s sale to Anchorage and its collapse in 2016,” another explained.
Ski yogurt has also disappeared from the shelves.
“I never noticed, I don’t eat yogurt, but I remember all the ads – they were huge,” one said in shock.
Sams Warehouse was also on the list.
“One day it was just boarded up and never talked about again,” said one.
‘I worked in that company for about seven years until a year before its total collapse, it was an absolute s**tshow for most of that time – I think we went into receivership and buyouts/restructurings three times endured while I was there, to be honest, I don’t think it lasted as long as it did in the end,” said a former employee.
Another Reddit user seemed to be keeping track of every ‘has-been’ retailer.
“Seduce clothing store, Lisa Ho, Go-Lo, Bi-Lo, Ice clothing, Bardot, Diva jewelry, Equip, Kleins, Gasp, Pumpkin Patch, Bardot, Gloss,” they wrote.
Equip was known as one of Australia’s largest fast fashion accessories brands – and once had 130 stores. Kleins also found itself in the rapidly evolving sector, closing all its 170 stores in 2008.
People were excited about the list.
‘Ice Clothing replaced a Wendy’s in one of our local shopping centers and that didn’t last long now that there is nothing left where it was in that centre. The only ice cream shop I’ve ever seen,” said one.
Hundreds of people commented on the thread, marveling at the forgotten stores and products that were once a staple for Australians.