Leading lights - bulbs, shades and electrical at Woolies

This page tells the story of two 'leading lights' who changed the world:

Frank Winfield Woolworth (1852-1919) evangelised factory mass-production. His store chain was the first to buy directly from manufacturers rather than wholesalers, and to offer a modern style of retailing that welcomed everyone, both rich and poor.

Thomas Alvar Edison (1847-1931) invented the gramophone, the incandescent light bulb, the world's first commercial power station and the electric train. He was the ultimate inventor's inventor.

Edison patented his first light bulb in the same year that Woolworth opened his first store. The five-and-ten became the first chain to adopt electric lighting. The two pioneers later worked on several joint projects as the stores promoted Edison Lamps and the skyscraping Woolworth Building took on all of the latest inventions from Menlo Park, including two power plants, the lighting, express lifts and even recording equipment.

In common with most shops and homes of its time, the first successful Woolworth store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA was lit by a gas lamp. The picture on the right shows its ramshackle interior, dominated by the single globe at the centre. The early branches stocked gas appliances, including burners, globes, petal shades and gas rings, each for just five or ten cents each.  

Woolworth was very interested when news broke that Edison had patented an incandescent light bulb. The retailer had already seen arc lighting in operation on his buying trips to England, and knew of Humphrey Davey's Davey Lamp and Sir Joseph Wilson Swan's experimental incandescent bulbs. But now an American had taken the lead, and in doing so had become the talk of New York.

Woolworth resolved to join the revolution. He planned to make his salesfloors brighter than the competition and to illuminate his elaborately dressed shop windows so that these silent salesmen could attract new shoppers after dark. Before long the 5-and-10 offered a beacon of light at night in Main Streets across America.

By the turn of the twentieth century bright light streamed out of the windows of many Woolworth syndicate stores. The transformation of the flagship Lancaster store was spectacular. As the picture from 1914 shows, the original hole-in-the-wall store had been rebuilt as the town's first 'skyscraper' in 1905, and its spacious mahogany-clad salesfloor shone with 150 watt bulbs in glass dome shades throughout.

The firm's British stores weren't skyscrapers, but electric light was included from the first day, setting them apart from the rest of the High Street.

Besides their remarkable inventiveness, Edison and his team from Menlo Park had another gift - for marketing and promotion. One of the reasons that most people believe that Edison invented  the light bulb, even though the British scientist Sir Joseph Wilson Swan had patented a primitive filament-based design in 1876, is because Edison knew how to promote and protect his ideas. What was more, as his company's income rocketed, it was able to buy out its best competitors and absorb their ideas.

One example of this flair for publicity was the collaboration between Edison and Woolworth on a major advertising campaign. Frank Woolworth was a great lover of gadgets and all things new. He was happy to agree a win-win scheme in which Edison's General Electric Company placed full page advertisements in newspapers and magazines, using Woolworth stores to promote the idea of the 'good light' that could be achieved by using their patented Mazda Bulbs.

Both men believed that good lighting could help to increase retail sales. Frank Woolworth was more than happy to use Mazda bulbs for as long as GEC kept giving him a hefty discount, particularly after the two companies collaborated on an even larger project - a real tall story - Frank's cloud-reaching skyscraper in Broadway Place, New York. At 792 feet the building was the world's tallest for almost twenty years and featured many of Edison's innovations.

(Right click the picture opposite and choose 'Save target as...' if you would like to download a full-size version, courtesy of the Orginal Virtual Museum.)

In 1910 Frank Woolworth embarked on his most ambitious project - the construction of the world's tallest building on a plot of land in Broadway Place, New York. He hired the eminent architect Cass Gilbert and sent him to London to study the British Houses of Parliament, which the five'n'dime magnate wanted his skyscraper to emulate.

The building was to tower 792 feet above the sidewalk, with foundations drilled down to 121 feet below ground. The edifice had fifty-five floors above ground and a viewing platform at the very top, with a basement and sub-basement below ground. Frank Woolworth paid for it in cash, covering the full cost of $13.5 million from his own pocket. The money was his share of the profits from the five-and-ten cent store chain that carried his name, and from the sale of shares when it had incorporated in 1905.

From the outset Woolworth was determined that as well as providing a permanent memorial to the power of nickels and dimes, his building must also turn a profit. He set up a separate company, the Broadway Place Realty Corporation, to put the plan into effect. As its Chairman he negotiated for many of the building materials personally and drew up plans to sub-let much of the building. He aimed to attract the cream of New York business to the landmark site. He believed that they would pay a premium because of the novelty and prestige of the scheme, observing "Business men will fall over themselves to be able to say their offices are in the tallest building on earth".

To achieve that objective the building didn't just have to be tall, it had to be both elegant and practical. As New York had stretched skywards there had been scare stories of lifts tumbling to the ground and power cuts leaving wealthy businessmen stranded for many hours. To address this Woolworth worked with Thomas Edison to plan two generating stations, each with two Corliss engines in the sub-basement. These would supply the whole building without reliance on any third-party. If used elsewhere the power plants could have supplied a city of fifty thousand people.

In parallel Woolworth and Gilbert also worked with the Otis Company on the design for thirty express lifts with special safety brakes, air cushions and speed governors. The design guaranteed to bring a falling lift to a halt. To prove the concept a box of eggs was dropped from the top of the building in a publicity stunt. To everyone's relief they remained intact. The lifts could travel from the lobby to the top of the tower in under one minute. Like every room in the building, the lifts even had telephones.

By the opening day on 24 April 1913 every square inch had been let. The Woolworth Company occupied the whole of the twenty-fourth floor. The suite included Frank Woolworth's private office, which was called the 'Empire Room'. The firm also occupied part of the twenty-third level. The remainder had been sublet.The building employed more than 300 service men who supported the 15,000 who worked there and also took care of most of the maintenance. A candlelit opening ceremony was organised. This allowed Woolworth and his guest of honour, Thomas Alvar Edison, to celebrate their achievement in style. At the appointed hour the US President Woodrow Wilson flicked a switch in the White House to turn on bright electric lamps throughout the huge structure.

Despite the wealth of the Founders and the Company's use of electric lighting in-store, until the 1930s most customers' homes were lit by gas and heated by coal. Woolworth carried a comprehensive range of spares and accessories, including rubber hoses, copper tubing, gas taps and keys. The most popular items were porcelain 'domes' or lampshades to suit everything from a ceiling light to a wall or table lamp. These were sold for sixpence each.

Household disposable incomes for working people were much lower than they are today, meaning that most families were slow to embrace the wonders of electricity in the home. Sales of plugs, sockets and incandescent light bulbs were much slower in rural Britain than in comparable stores in the USA. It was only the slum clearance and new home building of the early 1930s that finally saw electrical sales overtake gas across the Company.

The transition from gas to electricity is shown in the sign, promoting 1930's Household Week, photographed in the window of the store in Liverpool's London Road, near the University.

During the 1930s Woolies was among the first British retailers to embrace the new wonder material, bakelite - an early plastic - which was used to make a wide variety of electrical fittings, including switches, plugs and adaptors. The sixpenny prices were much lower than at competitor stores. The Buyer worked to develop the market with help from the suppliers Ward and Goldstone and HH Electrical. They produced leaflets showing how to wire a plug and fit a light socket.

Bakelite was revolutionary compared with previous materials. When molten it could be coloured to any shade and moulded to any shape. As it cooled it dried rigid and durable, if a little vulnerable to cracking if it was dropped. The material was used for brightly coloured kitchenwares and for a wide selection of jewellery and decorative items, but excelled in a dark brown colour for light switches and surrounds, lampholders and plug sockets.

Some Thirities-built homes still have a few original bakelite fittings. Sniff and you may spot a one of the lampholder, because as it heats up from the light of the bulb it smells slightly fishy!

Most items were sold without packaging. They were stacked loose between glass dividers on the mahogany counters. Customers could ask for a paper bag, but most did not. Each store had a wall display board which showing the full range and prices together. 'How to' leaflets were sold in the book department with wiring diagrams and more detailed installation instructions for difficult items like multi-way switches. These were sold separately.

This Woolworth torch played a special part in helping East Enders through the Blitz.

Each night its owner held her fingers over the lens and directed the light to the power lines above, helping tram conductors to switch their power rod as they turned for the return journey during the blackout.

Our correspondent says 'you always got a lot for sixpence at Woolies, but this torch deserves a medal for its service to London!'

After the Second World War the electrical range was expanded to include many new items. By this time the company had dropped its sixpenny limit, opening a world of new possibilities to its Buyers.

The store selection included a dozen different 'Sunshine Lamps' in bright yellow boxes. New lines included electric flex for fourpence a yard (approx 2p per metre), lamp shades for of up to five shillings (25p) and table lamps for five shillings and ninepence (29p).

Lighting canopies for shades heralded a move up-market, (below), along with dispensers to make it easier to buy flex off the roll.

Rising household incomes in the 1950s saw many households buying or renting their first television set. Woolworth's did a roaring trade in coaxial cable and insulating tape.

The range of bulbs was enlarged as customers became more affluent. Where once most shoppers had lit their homes by gas, now as well as bulbs for lighting, Woolworth also sold for replacement bulbs for cars and motorbikes, as well as radios and other household appliances.

A decade later the chain stepped up from spares to selling appliances. The fires, hairdryers, power tools and striplights developed for a new own-label called Winfield. The largest stores also offered branded televisions, washing machines and other large domestic appliances. During the 1970s these items were available from some smaller stores through a new catalogue subsidiary, Shoppers World .

The working practices in-store did not keep pace with the new ranges. Until the 1970s most branches continued to operate the chain's tried and tested personal service model, taking payment at each counter, long after competitors had switched to self-service.

Customers also found it quaint that the staff were instructed to test every bulb in baton lampholder before it was sold. The lamps were sold in open-ended packaging to ease the process.

The practice was finally dropped in 1982, after new management concluded that it presented a hazard under the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act. Despite the live terminals at ever till, there is no evidence of electrocutions over the previous 65 years!

The trading environment was difficult in the 1970s, as the chain struggled to reinvent itself against a backdrop of high inflation, a rapid increase in wage costs and intense competition. The parent company's diversification ventures also failed to sparkle in North America. In 1982 it sold its controlling interest in the British subsidiary to a local consortium, using the money to pay down its debts.

The new owners identified the potential for substantial profits by capitalising on the chain's recent acquisition of the B&Q DIY chain, and by selling some of the largest freehold properties. The High Street stores were given a radical overhaul to improve their rate of return. Over time the wider business transformed into an international retail empire, known as Kingfisher, which had many different brands.

The main Woolworth DIY operations were moved out-of-town to B&Q, which became the runaway market leader. As the stores became smaller they also dropped electrical appliances, with another Group acquisition, Comet, taking up the slack.

In 1984-5 a new look was trialled in the High Street. Lighting, electrical accessories and lampshades featured strongly. Sales and profits rose in the trial. Assessment showed that the investment required to upgrade the lighting canopies in the stores was too high, meaning this element was dropped before the new formula was extended across the chain.

The range of light bulbs and accessories was updated. Multipacks of four 40, 60 or 100 watt lamps for 99p became a popular promotion, along with packs of three plugs fitted with either 3 or 13 amp fuses. At the time appliances did not come fitted with a plug. Instead customers had to buy and fit them.

Another innovation was coloured plugs and switches, with red the most popular shade. This co-ordinated with the kitchen and household accessories offered elsewhere in-store.

New displays of Duracell and Ever Ready batteries aimed to persuade customers to trade up from traditional zinc carbon to long-life alkaline cells.

Flex moved into pre-packs rather than being sold from the reel, targeting minor repairs rather than major DIY projects.

The new look stores received lots of praise. The Board was credited with transforming the fortunes of the 75 year old chain. The highly-effective Managing Director, Mair Barnes, was declared Business Woman of the Year, and then awarded a CBE.

The Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher, PC MP, endorsed a Young Leaders of the Future Initiative and made a number of appearances at her local Woolies in Grantham, Lincolnshire. She was photographed buying multipack lightbulbs on one of her visits, going on to stock up on tights and stockings!

Sales volumes were maintained by ensuring that prices remained competitive. In the 1990s the Directors, prompted by Commercial Director Rob Cissell, responded to the competitive threat emerging from the expansion of Wilkinson. Prices were cut across the Home Departments, particularly in stores with strong competition.

The tough market kept the chain on its toes, holding margins in check and encouraging the Buyers to keep prices as low as possible. They succeeded in maintaining the leading share of bulb, accessory and battery sales until the mid 1990s. However one threat was much more difficult to contend with. Supermarkets started to make in-roads into general merchandise, concentrating their fire-power on everyday essentials like lightbulbs. Initially they competed more on convenience and their free car parking than directly on price. From 1994 onwards Woolworths fought back with improved on-shelf availability helped by new technology and by exploiting software to offer multibuy promotions through the tills. Market share was maintained and sales and profits continued to be healthy until the chain demerged from the Kingfisher and changed direction in 2002.

After the demerger a new Board decided to target mums, with a child-centric offer of clothes, toys, cards, sweets and entertainment. This took space from the traditional home ranges, and brought changes to the types of items and pricing strategy for what remained. The ranges became more stylish, with a higher proportion of expensive items like computers, mobile phones and multi-way extension leads, and fewer cheap accessories. The new business model had a narrower appeal, and demanded higher margins on each item sold. It attracted a dedicated following from mums and children, who spent more on each visit.

After four years of decline in overall electrical sales, a change at the top of the company resulted in a sales revival for light bulbs and the traditional electrical range. Tony Page, who joined as Commercial Managing Director, challenged the team to improve availability. As a shopper he had found it hard to buy a light bulb at Woolworths, as they were always out of stock. He also shaped a new value range which he hoped would 'outshine' the competition. The result was WorthIt! which brough jaw-drop prices on mass-produced lines. The products included a standard light bulb for 20p; in real terms this was the chain's cheapest ever, the equivalent of half a penny rather than sixpence in earlier times. WorthIt! goods also included a selection of power tools, budget radios and other home appliances.

Such was the success of the range that it attracted attention from a surprising quarter. The environmental lobbying group Greenpeace besieged the company's offices in Marylebone Road, demanding to know why inefficient incandescent lightbulbs were being offered so cheaply. They followed this up with a spoof Wooly and Worth TV commercial on the Internet.

The affair reminded customers that the firm stocked bulbs and also provided a platform to expose the firm's difficulty in getting low energy bulbs to market at a drop down price. The European Community had rules in place preventing the import of 'green' bulbs from the Far East, which held prices up in the shops. The furore resulted in a change in the law, achieved largely by the lobbying power of Greenpeace, and saw Woolworths sell more than a million 11W WorthIt! light bulbs for just 50p each, a reduction of 80% on the prevailing price at the time.

In 2007, for the first time since demerger, customer traffic increased and sales of accessories started to grow again. Sadly it was too late. Growing losses and burgeoning debts meant the business was unable to follow through on the green shoots of recovery. Unable to persuade their bankers to provide additional funding during the Credit Crunch, the entire Woolworths Group collapsed into Administration shortly before Christmas 2008. The High Street stores put the lights out for the last time just under forty days later.

Today in some small local High Streets there is nowhere to buy a light bulb. Supermarkets have gained the leading market share of batteries as other retailers compete to fill the gap that Woolworths stores have left behind. The name survives and prospers on-line but, as yet, the offer does not embrace the everyday knick knacks that sustained the brand for many of its ninety-nine years in the High Street.