Frank Woolworth
Encyclopedia
Frank Winfield Woolworth (April 13, 1852 – April 8, 1919) was the founder of F.W. Woolworth Company (now Foot Locker
), an operator of discount stores that priced merchandise at five and ten cent
s. He pioneered the now-common practices of buying merchandise direct from manufacturers and fixing prices on items, rather than haggling
.
, about eleven miles south of Watertown
. He was the son of John Hubbell Woolworth and Fanny McBrier. He attended a business college for 2 terms in Watertown, New York before his first job as a stock boy in a general store. On June 11, 1876, he married Jennie Creighton (1853–1924), with whom he would have three daughters:. Edna Woolworth (1883–1918), the mother of Barbara Hutton
, later committed suicide.
The son of a farmer, Woolworth aspired to be a merchant. In 1873, he started working in a drygoods store in Watertown, New York. He worked for free for the first three months, because the owner claimed "why should I pay you for teaching you the business?". He remained there for six years. There he observed a passing fad: Leftover items were priced at five cents and placed on a table. Woolworth liked the idea, so he borrowed $300 to open a store where all items were priced at five cents.
Woolworth's first five-cent store, established in Utica, New York
, on February 22, 1879, failed within weeks. At his second store, established in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
, in April 1879, he expanded the concept to include merchandise priced at ten cents. The second store was successful, and Woolworth and his brother, Charles Sumner Woolworth, opened a large number of five-and-ten-cent stores. His original employer was made a partner.
In 1911, the F.W. Woolworth Company was incorporated, uniting 586 stores founded by the Woolworth brothers and others. In 1913, Woolworth built the Woolworth Building
in New York City
at a cost of $13.5 million in cash. At the time, it was the tallest building in the world, measuring 792 feet, or 241.4 meters.
Woolworth's wealth also financed the building of his mansion, Winfield Hall
in Glen Cove
, Long Island, in 1916. The grounds of the estate required 70 full time gardeners and the 56 room mansion required dozens of servants just for basic upkeep. The home's decor reflected Woolworth's fascinations with Egyptology
, Napoleon and spiritualism (a huge pipe organ that Woolworth learned to play late in life combined with a planetarium
style ceiling to provide an intentionally eerie effect) and was built with no expenses spared: the pink marble staircase alone cost $2 million to construct.
In 1978 the abandoned and largely gutted mansion became the home of Monica Randall, a respected writer and photographer engaged to a German businessman that owned the manor at the time, who wrote a memoir of her experiences there entitled Winfield: Living in the Shadow of the Woolworths. Other notable residents of Winfield were the Reynolds family of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Reynolds Aluminum.
The mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1979.
would gain much publicity for her lifestyle, squandering more than $50 million. Hutton likely named her London, UK, mansion after her grandfather's Long Island estate.
Bronze busts honoring Woolworth and seven other industry magnates stand outside between the Chicago River
and the Merchandise Mart
in downtown Chicago
, Illinois
.
By 1997, the original chain he founded had been reduced to 400 stores, and other divisions of the company began to be more profitable than the original chain. The original chain went out of business on July 17, 1997, as the firm began its transition into Foot Locker, Inc..
The UK stores continued operating (albeit under separate ownership since 1982) after the US operation ceased under the Woolworth name and by the 2000s traded as Woolworths Group
. The final U.K. stores ceased trading January 6, 2009. The UK Woolworths brand was bought by Shop Direct Group in the UK who plan to run the store online only.
Woolworths continues to operate in Germany. Woolworths pty. Ltd. retailers in Australia have no connection to F. W. Woolworths or the original Woolworths corporation.
Mr. Woolworth was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1995.
He has a cemetery named for him east of Watertown, NY where he started his first store.
Foot Locker
Foot Locker, Inc. is an American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in approximately 20 countries worldwide. Formerly known as Venator Group, Inc., it is the successor corporation to the F.W. Woolworth Company , and many of...
), an operator of discount stores that priced merchandise at five and ten cent
Cent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
s. He pioneered the now-common practices of buying merchandise direct from manufacturers and fixing prices on items, rather than haggling
Variable pricing
Most firms use a fixed price policy. That is, they examine the situation, determine an appropriate price, and leave the price fixed at that amount until the situation changes, at which point they go through the process again...
.
Biography
He was born on April 13, 1852 on the family's meager potato farm in Rodman, New YorkRodman, New York
Rodman is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,176 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a public official, Daniel Rodman....
, about eleven miles south of Watertown
Watertown
-Places in the United States:*Watertown, California*Watertown, Connecticut*Watertown, Florida*Watertown, Massachusetts*Watertown, Michigan*Watertown Township, Clinton County, Michigan*Watertown Township, Tuscola County, Michigan...
. He was the son of John Hubbell Woolworth and Fanny McBrier. He attended a business college for 2 terms in Watertown, New York before his first job as a stock boy in a general store. On June 11, 1876, he married Jennie Creighton (1853–1924), with whom he would have three daughters:. Edna Woolworth (1883–1918), the mother of Barbara Hutton
Barbara Hutton
Barbara Woolworth Hutton was an American socialite dubbed by the media as the "Poor Little Rich Girl" because of her troubled life...
, later committed suicide.
The son of a farmer, Woolworth aspired to be a merchant. In 1873, he started working in a drygoods store in Watertown, New York. He worked for free for the first three months, because the owner claimed "why should I pay you for teaching you the business?". He remained there for six years. There he observed a passing fad: Leftover items were priced at five cents and placed on a table. Woolworth liked the idea, so he borrowed $300 to open a store where all items were priced at five cents.
Woolworth's first five-cent store, established in Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
, on February 22, 1879, failed within weeks. At his second store, established in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
, in April 1879, he expanded the concept to include merchandise priced at ten cents. The second store was successful, and Woolworth and his brother, Charles Sumner Woolworth, opened a large number of five-and-ten-cent stores. His original employer was made a partner.
In 1911, the F.W. Woolworth Company was incorporated, uniting 586 stores founded by the Woolworth brothers and others. In 1913, Woolworth built the Woolworth Building
Woolworth Building
The Woolworth Building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in New York City. More than a century after the start of its construction, it remains, at 57 stories, one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at a cost of $13.5 million in cash. At the time, it was the tallest building in the world, measuring 792 feet, or 241.4 meters.
Woolworth's wealth also financed the building of his mansion, Winfield Hall
Woolworth Estate
Woolworth Estate is a historic estate located at Glen Cove in Nassau County, New York. It was designed in 1916 by noted architect C. P. H. Gilbert for Frank Winfield Woolworth...
in Glen Cove
Glen Cove, New York
Glen Cove is a city in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 26,964....
, Long Island, in 1916. The grounds of the estate required 70 full time gardeners and the 56 room mansion required dozens of servants just for basic upkeep. The home's decor reflected Woolworth's fascinations with Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
, Napoleon and spiritualism (a huge pipe organ that Woolworth learned to play late in life combined with a planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
style ceiling to provide an intentionally eerie effect) and was built with no expenses spared: the pink marble staircase alone cost $2 million to construct.
In 1978 the abandoned and largely gutted mansion became the home of Monica Randall, a respected writer and photographer engaged to a German businessman that owned the manor at the time, who wrote a memoir of her experiences there entitled Winfield: Living in the Shadow of the Woolworths. Other notable residents of Winfield were the Reynolds family of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Reynolds Aluminum.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1979.
Death
Woolworth died on April 8, 1919, five days before his 67th birthday. At the time of his death, Woolworth was worth about approximately $6.5 million or the equivalent of 1/1214th of US GNP His company owned more than 1,000 stores in the United States and other countries and was a $65 million ($ in 2009 dollars) corporation. He died without signing his newest will, so his handicapped wife received the estate under the provision of his older 1889 will.Legacy
His granddaughter Barbara HuttonBarbara Hutton
Barbara Woolworth Hutton was an American socialite dubbed by the media as the "Poor Little Rich Girl" because of her troubled life...
would gain much publicity for her lifestyle, squandering more than $50 million. Hutton likely named her London, UK, mansion after her grandfather's Long Island estate.
Bronze busts honoring Woolworth and seven other industry magnates stand outside between the Chicago River
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of the same name, including its center . Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and...
and the Merchandise Mart
Merchandise Mart
When opened in 1930, the Merchandise Mart or the Merch Mart, located in the Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, was the largest building in the world with of floor space. Previously owned by the Marshall Field family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating vendors...
in downtown Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
By 1997, the original chain he founded had been reduced to 400 stores, and other divisions of the company began to be more profitable than the original chain. The original chain went out of business on July 17, 1997, as the firm began its transition into Foot Locker, Inc..
The UK stores continued operating (albeit under separate ownership since 1982) after the US operation ceased under the Woolworth name and by the 2000s traded as Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
. The final U.K. stores ceased trading January 6, 2009. The UK Woolworths brand was bought by Shop Direct Group in the UK who plan to run the store online only.
Woolworths continues to operate in Germany. Woolworths pty. Ltd. retailers in Australia have no connection to F. W. Woolworths or the original Woolworths corporation.
Mr. Woolworth was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1995.
He has a cemetery named for him east of Watertown, NY where he started his first store.