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The first character merchandise |
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| The arrival of talking pictures to British cinemas in the late 1920s opened up a wealth of new possibilities for F. W. Woolworth. There were magazines and "fan-zines" about the movies and the stars (the 1930s equivalent of the Radio Times), including exclusive titles only available at Woolworths. | ||||
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Having an American parent Company proved very helpful when it came to developing good quality movie magazines. The New Movie - a Woolworths exclusive - was edited in Hollywood and printed in London and New York. The movie release schedule (which often meant that American movies were shown a few months later in Europe) meant that Woolies had the stories on the shelves before the picture appeared in the silver screen. | |||
| The Company publicity team made great play of telegrams from the stars demanding that Woolworth stores carried more copies of the movie magazines to save them running out. One example of this was a telegram from Al Jolson, dated Jan 20th 1930 , complaining that the Hollywood Store had already run out of The New Movie before he arrived to buy one. "Please print more" he says. |  |
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 © Disney, All Rights Reserved |
The Woolworth buyers were quick to recognise the potential of character products linked to the movies. Mickey Mouse (created by Disney in 1928) had moved from bendy toys (in 1929) to sweet wrappers (1930), and jigsaw puzzles in 1931. Customers wanted to buy their favourite characters from the new cartoons. | |||
| The sheet music of the time was often related to the music, encouraging families to gather around the piano at home, with mum or dad strumming out the tune and the kids joining in with the lyrics. Throughout the 1930s Woolworths boasted the very latest collection of songs available in-store. If a particular song was not available in-store for 6D they would arrange for it to be posted to the customer at home for no additional cost. | ||||
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Of all the characters in the movies in the 1930s, none inspired store colleagues quite like Snow White. Up and down the country stores dressed special Snow White display windows, and created larger than life features in store. In many of the larger stores a salesgirl would play Snow White, while the Store Manager was demoted to the role of one of the dwarves - often Grumpy ! | |||
| The seven dwarves featured in a sixpenny jigsaw with a difference. Like many jigsaw puzzles of the 1930s it consisted of cubic blocks, with a different pattern on each face, giving six different puzzles in a single box - just one penny each! Despite the fact that Woolworths sold over a million units in Christmas 1937, the puzzles are still highly collectable. |
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 © Disney, Wade and F. W. Woolworth & Co. Ltd., All Rights Reserved |
Much rarer and more collectable is the Wade figurine of Dopey, one of the seven dwarves. Made in fine bone china and standing about three inches tall, these were manufactured for Christmas 1938 - a limited edition to be sold for sixpence each (about a tenth of their real worth at the time). Company executives planned a series with one dwarf to be sold each Christmas from 1938 to 1944. World War Two stopped the plan in its tracks, and only Dopey was ever made. | |||
| Character merchandise wasn't limited to Toys and Music. It featured right across the range - chocolate bars, paper patterns, the jewellery counter and indeed homewares. From the late 1920s right through until the 1950s Woolies offered an ever-changing range of salt and pepper pots - sometimes featuring characters from the movies, others seasonal items like Easter Eggs or Christmas Trees. This are often seen at antique fairs, and quite regularly still have their sixpenny price tickets on the base, showing they were bought as ornaments rather than for practical use. |
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Opening
gambit - transforming the High Street Flotation
on the London Stock Exchange |
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