Supplier partnerships and product development
       
John B. Snow (known to his friends as "Surefire") was recruited to the British company by Frank and Fred Woolworth. A veteran of the American company, he was a management trainee in Fred Woolworth's own New York store in the early 1900s and opened a number of stores in the US and was trained in buying by Frank Woolworth and Carson Peck before being invited to England. He opened Preston (which still trades today) in 1910 and was Manager of the Northern District of stores until the Great War, but he made his mark as the Superintendent of Buying for Woolworths for more than 25 years - our first Commercial Director, alongside a British Buying Director, Ronald H. Parker. John B. Snow and Ronald H. Parker were the Company's first Commercial Directors, each serving for more than 25 years
       
He opened the second store Preston (which still trades today) in 1910 and was Manager of the Northern District of stores until the Great War, but he made his mark as the Superintendent of Buying for Woolworths for more than 25 years - our first Commercial Director, alongside a British Buying Director, Ronald H. Parker.
 

Greek key lead crystal glasses from the 1920s remain highly collectable to this day. No-one believes they once came from Woolies, but look closely and while they look great, no two are quite the same! (Image: Paul Seaton)

 By 1920 Woolworths already had a strong base of British suppliers, backed up by overseas sources for luxuries and novelties. Under Snow and Parker's supervision the Buyers supported suppliers' product development and the Company often paid a little extra in the early stages of buying contracts to help the suppliers to invest and develop their factories and establish a consistent and reliable source of supply.

Many of the items were simple and utilitarian - but all were exceptional value for money.
       
It was the job of every Woolworth buyer to work closely with suppliers to understand their production processes and the key drivers of cost.  The buyers would provide advice and guidance about how products could be produced more cheaply and how to ship the goods at the lowest cost and package them for maximum sales.  A good item in the 1920s could easily sell a million units within a month of going on sale.
       

Eighteen lightweight stainless steel short teaspons - 3D (1.25p) the set at F W Woolworth & Co. Ltd. in the 1920s. (Image: Paul Seaton)
       
The Tin Spoons (illustrated above) sold in huge quantities in the days before plastic disposable cutlery was introduced.  At  3D (1.25p) for eighteen spoons, they were perfect for picnics.  The polished stainless-steel style finish of the spoons has maintained its lustre for seventy years in the box until we opened it to take a picture for our Virtual Museum.  Each spoon is about half the length and under a quarter of the weight of a modern stainless steel teaspoon.
       
Ivory Pattern China from Stoke-on-Trent with its bright orange and green relief pattern against a creamy white background was very popular in Woolworths in the 1920s. (Image: Paul Seaton) Many of the china and glass items originally sold in the 1920s have also survived the test of time, prized pieces in many a personal collection in both Britain and America.  The pattern marks "Ivory England" or "Fibre Woolworth England", with a crown backstamp  serve to identify the items.  Few people would believe that some of the china pieces were only 3D (1.25p) and none was over 6D (2˝p). Fibre Pattern China from Stoke-on-Trent carried the crown backstamp and the words "Woolworth England" on the base.
       

The Buyers and Suppliers also worked together to develop display layout guidance for the stores, designed to show off their products to best advantage.  Today this is called "planograming", which is normally done in a sophisticated computer application.  Back then the Buyer and Supplier would assemble the display on the counters in a store before the season began and then photograph the display on a long exposure.  In many cases the creativity and flair of the display designs are remarkable - making even the simplest items into sophisticated art forms to tempt customers to part with their sixpences.

       

A very early "picturegram" layout - as the F. W. Woolworth buying office makes the penny Christmas decoration into an art form in its own right. Massive sales were achieved by this display in 1928.
       
Extract from an early set of display instructions, published to Woolworths' store managers in 1928.

Supplier fast facts

113 suppliers from 1909 were still supplying Woolworths in 1959 Consolidation of industries around the world makes it hard to measure how many of those suppliers still serve the Company - but Thomas Edison Co. (now called GE) and the Anglo-Swiss company (now called Nestlé) remain key partners.
       
For the Suppliers an order from Woolworths meant a steady income, reliable payment (often in advance), and once they had a foothold, if the products were of good quality and they offered a reliable service, any new product they developed was guaranteed a try-out.
       

Fun learning 1920s style, from Woolworths. (Image: Paul Seaton)
       

1920s Gallery Home

20s overview: stepping up the pace   Visit a 1920s store  
Rapid expansion -  an opening every 17 days   Supplier partnerships and product development
The first gramophone records   Play the Little Marvel record "What'll you do"  
Woolies in the community    Alice White in "The Girl from Woolworths"
Sixpenny pops "We'll have a Woolworth Wedding"
50th birthday of the American Woolworth
Price quiz - dateline 1929