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 finished his schooling at the age of sixteen, yet with only basic knowledge and no experience he was unfit to begin working in any legitimate store. Undeterred, he applied to many shops in the area, every time receiving a resounding "No." Woolworth attended a business college for two terms in Watertown, New York, after having received a loan from his mother. In 1873, Woolworth worked as a stock boy in a general store called Augsbury & Moore's Drygoods in Watertown. His first experiences at Augsbury & Moore's would serve as the starting point to his own business venture and innovations.