(This article is about the former company. For the company which exists today that trades under this name, see Shop Direct Group.) Littlewoods was a retail and football betting company founded in Liverpool, Merseyside, England by John Moores in 1923. It grew to become the largest private company in Europe by the 1980s but declined in the face of increased competition from rivals and the Internet. Today the brand name remains as part of Shop Direct Group although the original company once employing 4,000 people has been broken up.