Today, Woolworth Canada, Inc, is a specialty retailer that operates 1,400 stores in Canada and the United States, under names like the Northern Group and Weekend Edition. The company continues to move along profitably, but the once-bustling Red-Fronts are now only a part of their past.
TIME CAPSULE MEMORY
“Strawberry Shortcake & Wonder Woman”
The Woolworth stores were very popular in Canada. In fact, for many years in my own city of Guelph, Ontario, Woolworth’s was the biggest store downtown. I used to go there as a youngster every week (or weekend) with my grandmother and she would buy me a toy from the downstairs section which held the toy department. Then, as a treat, we would go upstairs to the restaurant and have a strawberry shortcake. Ahh, I have special memories of that strawberry shortcake, as well of buying and reading the latest Wonder Woman comics!
—Ryan Lawrence, Canada
Frank Woolworth’s Maiden Journey To Europe
By the time Seymour Knox and Earle Charlton started to make dimestore history in Canada, Frank Woolworth had already begun making his own form of history in Europe. Officially, Woolworth opened his first “three-and-sixpence” Red-Front in England in 1909, but the seeds for that milestone were planted many years before, in 1890.
Frank Woolworth was thirty-eight-years-old when he embarked upon his maiden trip overseas. His official reason for the journey was to seek out inexpensive manufacturers of pottery, dolls, toys, and glassware, which he’d heard were available in abundance in the British Isles, Germany, Austria, and France. But to travel abroad was also Frank Woolworth’s personal dream. At long last, he would roam the same cobblestoned streets and vast battlefields as had his hero, Napoleon Bonaparte. He longed to meet a member of the British royal family, to feast on Vienna pastry, to see the Louvre in Paris, and to enjoy Europe’s renowned musical concerts.
Prior to his departure, Frank worked around the clock to put his business and personal affairs in order. His brother, Charles, and his general manager, Carson Peck, tried to assure their leader that all would be well in his absence. Nonetheless, Frank took an extra day to draw up a detailed, handwritten will, and to make arrangements for his family’s care in the event of his demise. Meanwhile, his servants meticulously packed several huge trunks filled with enough necessities for ninety days of traveling. Among his belongings were a rubber mackintosh, a steamer cap, a box of medicine, and a state-of-the-art Number 2 Kodak camera. The camera was one of his prized possessions. He was absolutely thrilled to be able to capture his adventure on film.
With a hearty farewell to his wife, Jennie, and a promise to his three daughters to return with the prettiest “dollies” he could find, Frank W. Woolworth set sail on February 19, 1890, on the luxurious steamship City of Paris. According to the brochures, he would arrive in the port of Liverpool, England, in less than six days.
Puffed with ambition, Frank boarded the liner’s expansive deck, his mind reeling with plans, his heart full of pride. He was now a man of substance. The year before, in 1889, sales from his five-and-tens totaled $247,214.26 in American dollars, with ample profits to do the Grand Tour in style.
From the very start of his trip, Frank began a routine of writing that continued throughout his pilgrimage. He wrote by gaslight, by candlelight, and by moonlight. He was determined to preserve the details of his trip for his managers and for posterity. These voluminous letters were mailed back to New York and multigraphed in the form of “General Letters” for distribution to Woolworth’s employees. Reportedly, hundreds of boxes of such precious historical documents are housed in the present Woolworth Building in Manhattan. Public access to these archives is not permitted, but portions of Frank Woolworth’s papers have been reprinted in numerous forums, allowing readers a glimpse into the mind of the Dimestore King.
Not surprisingly, given his frugal tendencies, one of Frank’s first missives to his boys back home dealt with the topic of money. Woolworth drew a bold line between the shillings he planned to spend seeing British actress Ellen Terry star in Dead Heart, and the money frittered away on foreign postage. On February 20, he wrote:
“Postage on letters to Bremen will be five cents per half ounce, so you must use thin paper and envelopes to save expense.”
Typically, Frank did not hold back in his general letters. He expressed unabashed feelings about all aspects of his adventure, including his jarring bout with the sea god Neptune:
“On deck part of the day but awful sick from morning till night. I don’t see any pleasure in going to sea. I wish I was home. Why was I such a fool to leave home? The sea is black and ugly and the ship rolls and pitches!”
Fortunately, when they passed the Fastnet Light and moved into the calmer Irish Sea, Frank fared easier. The rough seas were soon forgotten, replaced with the excitement and sights of the dry lands of Europe.
A Tour Of London … And Beyond
Woolworth didn’t waste a moment when the liner docked in Liverpool, England. He hadn’t been able to stomach a decent meal in days, so his first priority was to head into town and sample the local cuisine. His simple repast of mutton, Gorgonzola cheese, marmalade, and plum pudding renewed his vigor.
By March 1, Frank W. Woolworth was already bustling about Staffordshire investigating the pottery. He and his small band of associates managed to visit twenty-five potteries in three days. From Staffordshire, he was off to London, a city Frank especially wanted to explore.
Woolworth was temporarily discouraged by the dense coal smoke that pervaded London, which reminded him of the gritty steel city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But after enjoying an ample dinner at a fashionable restaurant on the Strand, complete with a fine orchestra and gracious personal waiter, Frank stifled his grumbling and carried on with good humor. His traveling companion, international importer, B. F. Hunt, Jr., toured with Frank Woolworth for miles, taking in the shops and penny bazaars, while Frank assessed the mercantile situation. The first thing he learned was that they did not have “stores” in England, they had “shops.” They were smaller than American establishments, and often dark. An ace window dresser himself, Frank paid particular attention to the trimmings. He wrote on March 5, “The way they trim the shop windows here is new to me. They trim them close to the glass from the top to the bottom, and it is impossible to look into the store … [but] I think a good penny and six pence store run by a live Yankee would create a sensation here!”
Almost twenty years would lapse before the first “Wooleys” did indeed cause a sensation. In the meantime, Frank was free to hunt down wholesale bargains for resale in the United States. Throughout the trip, he left ample time for sightseeing, as well as to indulge his legendary passion for fine food. Once again, his General Letters offer a rare glimpse into Woolworth’s somewhat off-handed humor:
“We took lunch in a restaurant in the Old Palace of Richard the Third in the Throne Room. The bill of fare was dated 1466, but fortunately the meats and vegetables are comparatively modern.”
TIME CAPSULE MEMORY
“Frank Causes a Stir at Westminster”
We then visited the House of Parliament, or at least looked at it from the outside, and Westminster Abbey, which I consider the greatest sight in London. The guard at the door would not let me pass until I opened my Kodak and proved to him that there was no dynamite in it! —F. W. Woolworth, 6 March 1890
To Frank, the greatest sight of all was Westminster Abbey, where he had to prove to the guards at the door that there was no dynamite in what they considered “that newfangled contraption” called a Kodak camera.
From London, Frank hopped a steamer for Holland. From there he set off for Sonneberg, where he discovered that Germany’s toy and tree ornament business was positively booming. Woolworth immediately purchased thousands of items at a fraction of the usual cost. His trek to Vienna was also memorable. He referred to the city as a “regular kaleidoscope,” waxing prolific about the mouthwatering pastries, stunning statuaries, and incomparable musical concert
s. France was next on the itinerary, the country where his childhood dream was finally realized. He walked the same streets Napoleon once walked, and took a drive out of Paris to tour the emperor’s former summer palace.
It was a hectic yet productive three months. Toward the end of his journey, Woolworth returned to London, which he commented now seemed “almost homelike.” He then arranged passage on the steamship Etruria, which sailed from Liverpool on May 10. Shortly after dawn, the liner docked briefly at Queenstown, enabling Woolworth to take his first step onto Irish soil, in the country of his maternal ancestors. He had a grand old time in Queenstown, touring in a rollicking jaunty cart. As a special bonus, Woolworth learned a bit about his McBrier grandfather, a topic that intrigued him:
“We hung on [the cart] with all our might while the driver whipped up his horse and cracked jokes for us, which he seemed to be as full of as a nut of meat. I asked him if he knew my Grandfather [Henry McBrier] when he lived in Ireland. He replied: “Oh, yes, I knew him well. He was a foine man with strait hair, curley teeth and only half an upper lip.’”
The week-long excursion back to New York harbor was stormy and rough, and when he ultimately arrived, Woolworth admitted he was relieved to be home. “Such hugging and kissing I never got before!” he enthused. Frank’s three daughters, Helena, Jessy, and Edna May, were delighted with their beautiful “dollies” from Sonneberg, although frugal Frank was less pleased that he had to pay $2.10 duty on them!
The Birth of “Wooleys” in Liverpool
His experiences in Europe convinced Frank Winfield Woolworth that he should open a retail variety chain in the British Isles. Unfortunately, every time he broached the topic, his trusted associates scoffed. They questioned his decision to risk all in new, even antagonistic territory. Silently, they also wondered if their leader, then fifty-seven, was beginning to experience the daffiness of old age. It was common knowledge that most of the Brits considered him an eccentric American capitalist who would inelegantly invade their mercantile territory. But nothing, and no one, would deter Frank’s spirit for foreign expansion.
He traveled overseas many times after 1890. “The more Woolworth visited England,” recalled Robert C. Kirkwood, “the more impressed he became with the country, its people, and the business possibilities.” One spring morning in 1909, Frank Winfield Woolworth suddenly informed his aghast New York colleagues that he was leaving for an extended trip with the express purpose of finding a suitable location for his first British store. There was to be no more discussion of the matter; he was simply going to do it.
Carson Peck, Hubert Parson, and even Frank’s own brother, Charles, were not of a mind to join Frank on this particular escapade, so Frank called for volunteers among the newer members of the Woolworth ranks. Three entrepreneurs stepped forward. Fred Woolworth (Frank’s third cousin), Byron Miller, a former errand boy turned company superintendent, and Samuel Balfour. They were all young, ambitious, and game for adventure, particularly after an earful of positive persuasion from Frank.
The small party set off in May 1909. It was Decoration Day (our present Memorial Day), and for this particular trip, Woolworth brought along his wife Jennie and their lovely twenty-three-year-old daughter, Jessy. Once settled in England, Frank added a Brit to the mix, young William Lawrence Stephenson. Little did Stephenson know, that he was destined to become the chairman of the British Woolworth’s division, and upon retirement, one of the wealthiest men in all of Europe.
They investigated potential shop sites in Northampton, Croyden, Birmingham, and Reading, but it was Liverpool which earned the honor of hosting the first Woolworth’s store. Woolworth and his colleagues scuffled to order stock, secure permits, and scout for employees. In late-night meetings, his head bowed over piles of financial sheets, Woolworth outlined his strategy.
Frank had done his homework. He knew that the working-class British were accustomed to frowning clerks and small, dark shops with limited goods. Only the richest and most fashionable enjoyed the fine shops with attentive proprietors and quality products. His store would change all that. It would be bright and airy, packed with so many colorful, inexpensive items that even the poorest of patrons would feel they were on holiday. Most important of all, Frank would allow his customers to browse freely throughout the premises. Frank frowned upon the colloquial Liverpool tradition of “shopping,” which amounted to staring in the crowded, poorly lit windows. “The moment you go in,” he complained, “you are expected to buy and have made your choice from the window. They give you an icy stare if you follow the American custom of just going in to look around the store.”
Frank was determined to change all that; he informed his colleagues that his Yankee-styled “three-and-six pence” would soon have tongues wagging across Europe.
F. W. Woolworth & Co. Limited, was legally incorporated on July 23, 1909, with the startup capital financed by the American parent company. The capital amounted 550,250.00, seven percent of which was represented in the form of 5,000 preferred shares sold at £10 per share and 5,000 ordinary shares at one shilling per share. After much political and financial ado, a lease was signed on August 13, 1909, for his first British Red-Front to be located at 25 Church and 8 William Streets, Liverpool. Armed with information and capital, everything started to move along so smoothly that Woolworth became bored seeing to the last minute details. He was also exhausted, and so he decided to take his family on a short pleasure trip to Switzerland. The beauty of Switzerland impressed him, but he was absolutely horrified by the young fortune seekers who so blatantly wooed his daughter, Jessy. “These cheap titled people are after the American girl and her money,” he wrote home. “You must respect their good judgment in hoping to get both money and a fine-looking wife. But the poor American father and mother over here have their troubles if they are not sympathetic with this sort of courtship!”
Meanwhile, back in Liverpool, the Woolworth argonauts were trying desperately to keep the finer details of their mercantile plans a secret until the last possible moment. They did not relish the thought of bad publicity. The atmosphere in England was not as genial as Frank had hoped. The British had already made it clear they were not fond of private enterprise, especially from a brazen upstart from America. Several prominent businessmen before Frank Woolworth had been literally run out of England in disgrace.
Naturally, word did leak out to the press. In blazing headlines, columnists compared Woolworth to the infamous showman Barnum, and warned the public against the cheap perils of his proposed penny shops. A rival competitor circulated rumors that the Americans were opening at a seaport—Liverpool—in order to be able to flee the country quickly!
Awash in bad publicity and growing infamy, the first Woolworth’s store opened in Liverpool on Friday afternoon, November 6, 1909. A band concert heralded the occasion, and newly trained British clerks stood sentry behind highly polished counters. Frank had planned to be present for the premier, but was called back to New York for a business emergency. From his desk in the Woolworth Building, he nervously reviewed his managers’ reports and shot back replies by wire. All in all, he was pleased with the feedback, and smug in the knowledge that he’d been right all along. It seemed that unabashed curiosity had overpowered the skeptical British public: over 60,000 people passed through the first Liverpool store in the first two days.
This new marvel of Liverpool’s “three-and-six” brimming over with goods you could actually handle, was a tremendous popular success. Opening day sales totaled £562.6s.11d. Regional pottery, candy, and enamelware sold swiftly, and the American wares caused an outright stir. Byron Miller remembered one customer who gleefully picked up an American bathroom “gadget” (probably an ornate faucet) and cried out: “I says, wots this blasted thing for? Woota you do with it?” As the weeks progressed, the crowds continued to mob the little store.
Another site was quickly leased in Preston, Lancashire, followed by a second in Liverpool. The latter heralded an opening day event that w
ould be forever etched in the minds of its original employees and patrons: customers became so excited that a riot ensued. Shop girls swooned and several people were injured. Fortunately, the next series of store openings (in Manchester, Leeds and Hull) were more subdued.
From the very beginning in 1909, and straight through until World War II, tools, hunting equipment, and fishing gear were among the best-selling items in the “three-and-sixpence” Red-Fronts of the British Isles.
The wonders of Woolworth’s variety stores eventually reached London, prompting expansion into that great city in April 1913. That same month, F. W. Woolworth, Ltd. moved into expansive offices in Central House. For a time, the more sophisticated shoppers stayed away from what that they considered a very déclassé operation, but within a year, Frank Woolworth received reports of titled ladies and gentlemen (sometimes in disguise) slipping into “Wooleys” for an odd American whatsit. He was thrilled.
The Growth of F. W. Woolworth & Co., Ltd. England
In keeping with Frank’s cash-and-carry philosophy, the American F. W. Woolworth Co. never invested another pound in its British holdings. Growth and expansion derived from earnings and profits alone.
When the British division was formally incorporated in July 1909, Fred M. Woolworth became chairman of the board and managing director. Byron D. Miller was appointed director, a position held until he returned to the States in 1932 to serve as president of the American company. When Fred M. Woolworth died in 1923, British-born William Stephenson moved up the ranks to become chairman of the board and managing director.
Remembering Woolworth’s Page 14