Frank Winfield Woolworth Frank Winfield Woolworth Frank Winfield Woolworth (April 13, 1852 – April 8, 1919) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of F. W. Woolworth Company and the operator of variety stores known as "Five-and-Dimes" (5- and 10-cent stores) or dimestores, which featured a low-priced selection of merchandise. He pioneered the now-common practices of buying merchandise directly from manufacturers and fixing the selling prices on items, rather than haggling. He was also the first to use self-service display cases, so customers could examine what they wanted to buy without the help of a sales clerk. Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman,
Woolworth GmbH yet opened a store outside Germany. Woolworth GmbH Deutsche Woolworth GmbH & Company OHG is a chain of department stores in Germany, Austria and a former subsidiary of the American F. W. Woolworth Company. It is not part of the closure scheme that has affected the British Woolworths Group stores, nor is it related to the Australian-based Woolworths Limited retail group. F. W. Woolworth Co. GmbH was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the American company F. W. Woolworth Company. When still part of the parent company, corporate documents refer to the division as Retail Company of Germany, Inc..