Charles Sumner Woolworth managers, brightly lit stores, and frequently-changed window displays to lure customers inside. In 1912 C. S. Woolworth & Co, with the other affiliated chains, merged 596 stores under the corporate name "F. W. Woolworth Company". After the death of his brother, Frank Winfield Woolworth, Charles Sumner Woolworth became the reluctant Chairman of the Board of F. W. Woolworth Company (now Foot Locker), for 25 years. As a philanthropist and business man, he was involved with several institutions and businesses in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and other areas. Charles Sumner Woolworth, known by everyone as Sum, was born on August 1, 1856, in
Frank Winfield Woolworth how it was brought about, it is clear that this concept would become the most profound key to Woolworth's success and would change his life and retailing as well. Woolworth borrowed $300 and opened a five-cent store in Utica, New York, on February 22, 1878. It failed within weeks. Woolworth opened his second store in April 1879, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he expanded the concept to include merchandise priced at ten cents. In 1911, the F.W. Woolworth Company was incorporated with 586 stores. In 1913, Woolworth built the Woolworth Building in New York City at a cost of $130.5 million