F. W. Woolworth Company F. W. Woolworth Company The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was arguably the most successful American and international five-and-dime business, setting trends and creating the modern retail model that stores follow worldwide today. The first Woolworth store was opened by Frank Winfield Woolworth on February 22, 1878, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store" in Utica, New York. Though it initially appeared to be successful, the store soon failed. When Woolworth searched for a new location, a friend suggested Lancaster,
Charles Sumner Woolworth more than $30 million in the stock flotation. Frank was elected President of the new combined corporation. The others, Sum Woolworth, Fred Kirby, Seymour Knox, Earle Charlton, and William Moore, became directors. The Woolworth brothers' many trips to Europe opened their vision of new markets. Keeping with their pattern of bringing relatives and friends into the business, in 1909, Sum and Frank put their second cousin, Fred Moore Woolworth, in charge of opening a subsidiary in Great Britain, "F. W. Woolworth Co Ltd". Fred was joined by three established men in the Woolworth operation, Byron Miller, Samuel Balfour and Charles