F.W. Woolworth
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
F.W. Woolworth was a millionaire. In 1909 he opened his first store in England, and in 1913 the company opened its new headquarters in New York’s Woolworth Building — then the tallest building in the world.
This is the inspiring story of how he started his business.
Many years ago he went to work at a hardware store. He found all sorts of junk that took up space but did not sell well. He asked the owner to allow him to put it all on one table and sell each item for 10 cents. He did so and had a successful sale.
Later he did the same thing, and had another successful sale. He approached the owner and suggested that they open up a store specializing in items that cost only a nickel or a dime.
The owner thought it was a bad idea and refused. He decided and went into business for himself and became very successful with his idea.
His old employer later said, “I have calculated that every word I used to turn young Woolworths down cost me a million dollars.”
