F. W. Woolworth Company

F. W. Woolworth Company

Last pre-1997 logo
The Woolworth Building, New York City, c. 1913
Trade name	Woolworth's or Woolworth & Co
Company type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: Z (1912–1997)
Industry	Retail
Founded	February 22, 1879; 145 years ago (1879-02-22) Utica, New York, U.S.
Founder	Frank Winfield Woolworth (President)
Defunct	July 1997; 26 years ago (1997-07) (said division only)
Fate	Department stores closed. Name changed in 1997 to Venator Group, and in 2001 to Foot Locker
Successor	Foot Locker (1974–present)
Headquarters	Woolworth Building, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Key people	F.W. Woolworth (Founder/CEO) Charles Woolworth (Chairman)
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, consumer electronics and housewares
Owner	Independent
Parent	Woolworth Corporation, LLC.
Subsidiaries	Woolworths Group F. W. Woolworth Ireland Woolworth Canada Woolworth GmbH Woolworth Mexicana Kinney Shoe Company Woolco Woolworth Athletic Group Richman Brothers

The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or simply Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful American and international five-and-dime businesses, 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, 1879, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store" in Utica, New York. Though it initially appeared to be successful, the store soon failed.^[1] When Woolworth searched for a new location, a friend suggested Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Using the sign from the Utica store, Woolworth opened his first successful "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store" on June 21, 1879, in Lancaster. He brought his brother, Charles Sumner Woolworth, into the business.

The two Woolworth brothers pioneered and developed merchandising, direct purchasing, sales, and customer service practices commonly used today. Despite its growing to be one of the largest retail chains in the world through most of the 20th century, increased competition led to its decline beginning in the 1980s, while its sporting goods division grew.

The chain went out of business in July 1997, when the company decided to focus primarily on sporting goods and renamed itself Venator Group. By 2001, the company focused exclusively on the sporting goods market, changing its name to the current Foot Locker, Inc., changing its ticker symbol from its familiar Z in 2003 to its present ticker (NYSE: FL).

Retail chains using the Woolworth name survived in Austria, Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom as of early 2009. The similarly named Woolworths supermarkets in Australia and New Zealand are operated by Australia's largest retail company, Woolworths Group, a separate company with no historical links to the F. W. Woolworth Company or Foot Locker, Inc.

However, Woolworths Limited did take their name from the original company, as it had not been registered or trademarked in Australia at the time.^[2] Similarly, in South Africa, Woolworths Holdings Limited operates a Marks & Spencer-like store and uses the Woolworth name, but has never had any connection with the American company. The property development company Woolworth Group in Cyprus began life as an offshoot of the British Woolworth's company, originally operating Woolworth's department stores in Cyprus. In 2003, these stores were rebranded Debenhams, but the commercial property arm of the business retained the Woolworth's name.