F. W. Woolworth Company Co. had the first five-and-dime stores, which sold discounted general merchandise at fixed prices, usually five or ten cents, undercutting the prices of other local merchants. Woolworth, as the stores popularly became known, was one of the first American retailers to put merchandise out for the shopping public to handle and select without the assistance of a sales clerk. Earlier retailers had kept all merchandise behind a counter and customers presented the clerk with a list of items they wished to buy. After working in Augsbury and Moore dry goods store in Watertown, New York, Frank Winfield Woolworth obtained credit
Charles Sumner Woolworth put up $600 for a store called "Woolworth and Kirby". The store did very well, and in 1887 Fred bought out Sum's share, in a mutual agreement, and began to expand to more stores. Frank had incorporated his fast growing chain of stores as "F. W. Woolworth & Co" in 1905. The partner affiliates started to individually incorporate their businesses starting in 1905, following Frank's advice. Sum did not feel the need to do so, because he had a smaller number of stores. Clearly in photographs and on Woolworth postcards, he had incorporated at some point before 1911, as "C.