Woolworth Firm In Canada For 57 Years

[Evening Tribune, 24 March 1954]

With the celebration of Woolworths first 75 years, Canada’s own Woolworth’s marks its 57^th anniversary. It was founded April 30, 1897 when S. H. Knox opened his first store in Toronto. Not long afterward, E.P. Charlton opened a store in Montreal.

Canada was quick to accept the idea of the variety store, and at the inception of F.W. Woolworth, Co., in 1912, the company had 31 stores in the Dominion. At the close of the present anniversary year, 170 Woolworth stores will be in operation in Canada, located in all provinces except Newfoundland.

The growth of Canada’s own Woolworth’s is but a reflection of the growth of the company itself. In a century that has been characterized by industrial development, the industrialization of Canada still stands out as a notable achievement. When Woolworth’s opened in Canada at the close of the nineteenth century, Canada was primarily an agricultural nation. Today, although she remains an agricultural giant, Canada ranks among the great industrial nations of the world.

And her growth is probably only beginning. Blessed with an abundance of such vital natural resources as oil and uranium, Canada is generally regarded by authorities as one of the most promising economic frontiers.

F.W. Woolworth Co., Limited of Canada is an integral part of F.W, Woolworth Co. It receives the support and benefit of the total resources of the parent company. At the same time, Woolworth’s in Canada is entirely Canadian in operation. That is, it is managed and staffed by Canadians at all levels; all purchases are made in Canada; and all but a small percentage of goods sold are of Canadian origin. At all times the Canadian company is represented in the management of the parent company by a Canadian member on the board of directors.

The employees of Canadian Woolworth’s enjoy the same benefits and protections as those of the company in the United States: vacations with pay, Christmas bonuses, participation in the pension plan, and eligibility for help from the employees’ employment fund. Store managers and executive personnel at all levels are eligible for profit sharing. They also enjoy the benefits of the group life insurance and disability policy.

Woolworth’s stores in Canada are in general, worthy representatives of the great country they serve. They have gone the same evolution in policy and the same improvement in physical characteristics as their counterparts in the United States. As the economy of the Canadian nation continues to expand in the years ahead, F.W. Woolworth’s Co., Limited will undoubtedly assume an even more prominent role in the Woolworth organization as a whole.

Woolworth’s is justifiably proud to be a contributor, in small part at least, to Canada’s emergence as the bulwark of the British Commonwealth of nations and as a world power in her own right. Canada’s Woolworth’s is ready for the future.

MANAGER IS KEY

The basic operating unit of F.W. Woolworth’s is the individual store. Therefore, upon the manager of the store-singly and collectively-rests the basic responsibility for the success of the entire organization.

The importance of the store is historic. ______.