LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Well-established retail businesses will have to adapt to an increasingly competitive market and cannot rely on direct government aid in tough times, business minister Peter Mandelson said on Thursday.
The minister was speaking after Woolworths, a bastion of the high street for the past 99 years, was set to close by Jan. 5 with the loss of 27,000 jobs unless a last-minute buyer can be found.
Mandelson said companies like Woolworths needed to change with the times to survive.
"Of course with the emergence of very many more, very productive, competitive retail outlets, older established names are going to come under pressure," he told SKY television.
"Now they have got to change, restructure, and keep up and match that competitive pressure if they are going to survive.
"And that is a tough lesson I am afraid for all of us in the economy.
"And the government's job is to help that restructuring, to help companies, outlets, change with the times, so they can maintain their viability.
"But if at the end of the day that's not possible then we have and we will do everything we can to find alternative jobs for those who are directly affected by any business failure."
Woolworths would be the first big-name retailer in the UK to collapse totally as a result of the economic downturn.
Several banks have suffered but those have been rescued by the government or been bought out by rivals.
Mandelson has said the government is looking at whether the struggling car industry should be given support but he ruled out sweeping bailouts across the economy.
In a speech on Wednesday the minister said Britain's economy would emerge from the downturn with a smaller financial sector, weaker consumer spending and fewer public sector jobs. (Reporting by Avril Ormsby; Editing by Chris Wickham)