Tuppence a quarter - sweets in the 3^D and 6^D Stores

F. W. Woolworth's High Street stores in the UK stocked a wide range of weigh-out sweets, countlines and boxed chocolates throughout almost a century of trading. The offer was founded on a tradition that began in the USA in 1886. Today Shop Direct Group continues to offer Pic'n'Mix on-line via the new Woolworths website.

During the Summer of 1909, as Frank Woolworth toured Great Britain in search of a place to open, the Buying Team had to track down a range of boiled sweets, mints, toffees and chocolates to match or improve on the selection in the USA. They succeeded, and on opening day in Liverpool on 5 November the mahogany counter was crammed full with sweets in shiny foil wrappers. Pic'n'mix was just two old pence per quarter pound (125g), the equivalent of 6.55p per kg at the time, or 56p per 100g at today's prices.

Shoppers in the first stores marvelled at the selection, buying large quantities of sweets from the personal service counter, topped up with half pound (227g) bars of chocolate for sixpence (2½p) and wafers for tuppence (1p).

By the 1930s Woolworth had become the leading outlet for Confectionery across the British Isles. The chain held onto the number one position until 2008, selling more sweets, countlines and assortment boxes than anyone else in Europe. This page tells the story of how it all began.

In the early days the stores sold ice-cream alongside 'weigh-out sweets'. The candy counter only officially got the name 'pic'n'mix' in the 1950s, many years after customers first coined the nickname.

At the time most shoppers did not have electricity at home, let alone a freezer. The stores offered two sorts of ice-cream. Cones were a treat to eat at once, while 'sandwiches' were slabs of ice-cream between two wafers, which were tightly packed in bleached paper to keep them cold for the journey home.

Each store had a special refrigerator with a 'very cold section' for the cones and an 'artctic section' for the sandwiches.

The larger stores also sold ice-cream as a desert in their tea bars or restaurants.

Frank Woolworth originally intended to ship sweets from the factories that already supplied him in North America. His team on the ground persuaded him to change his mind after finding that there were more advanced factories in Britain that could supply better sweets at a lower cost price, even without the cost and delay of Transatlantic shipping.

Between July and October 1909, the Woolworths Buyer, William Stephenson, visited many factories, large and small, in search of the right sweets. Before the first store opened its doors he visited Cadbury's at Bournville and agreed occasional specials on their slab chocolate. He also signed up a number of sweet factories and established a range that included Licquorice Allsorts, Chocolates, Toffees, Nougat (known as 'nugget'), Gum Drops and Peppermints. On opening day the store had twenty different varieties, which were all priced at tuppence (1p) per quarter pound, which was the equivalent of about 56p per 100g at today's prices.

Stephenson commissioned one of the firm's china suppliers to make special clip-together porcelian bowls for display. These were made in a factory in Hanley, Staffordshire in the English Midlands. They were placed on the top of a mahogany island counter, which was located in a prominent position near the front of the store. Several different, exclusive sweets were sold under the name Milady. The best sellers were toffee, butterscotch, fudge and raspberry ruffles, which were chocolates with a fondant centre.

'Verity Level-Proof' scales were chosen for the Sweet Counters. They were also used to weigh broken biscuits which were displayed nearby. The stainless steel units featured a set of imperial weights from one pound ('1lb' or about 0.45kg) down to a quarter of an ounce ('¼oz' - 7.08 grams in the metric system). The customer's selection was placed in a chrome-plated scoop. The Assistant then added weights to the other side of the scale. When the two balanced, a diamond-shaped marker pointed exactly to the words 'Correct Weight Here'.

During the life of the scales, as the company grew, between 1909 and 1964 they weighed 9,090,000 pounds of sweets - 4,086 tonnes of them, all by hand, and with the price worked out on a ready reckoner card! "Three ounces madam? That will be a penny ha'penny (1½^D or 0.625p) please!"

During the 1910s and 1920s the displays of weigh-out sweets had to be filled up several times a day. Staff served from the centre of the island counter. There were cupboards underneath the display, called the 'understocks', which kept the reserve stock close to hand. The assistants had to call the supervisor for the key when they needed more stock.

As the company grew, many of the city centre stores were extended. As part of the upgrade larger glass- fronted sweet counters were installed (below). These had sufficient space to display 28 lbs (12.7 kg) of each variety. On the busiest days even those displays had to be replenished during the lunchtime peak.

Where possible one side of the counter was used for sweets and the other for biscuits and nuts.

Following a pattern from the USA, the British stores regularly set up elaborate display windows to promote their selection of sweets. Three suppliers provided virtually the entire range between them. They competed for window space, with each offering special fixtures and showcards, knowing that a good display could increase sales ten-fold. The move also put an end to the practice of selling the sweets after they had been displayed in the window. The suppliers provided replicas made of plaster to avoid them melting in the sunshine. Those people who reached in for a nibble rarely returned for a second helping!

By the 1930s one supplier dominated the sales league. A combination of eye-catching signgage and tasty sweets made 'Milady' the runaway customer favourite.

By this time the price of Milady Sweets had risen to threepence per quarter (equivalent to £1 per 125g today). The 'Milady lady' motif appeared regularly in store windows, and the supplier's colour tickets outshone their rivals, who opted for either one or two colour signs. Customers remember that Milady sweets were always the shiniest.

Alongside the range of weigh-out sweets, the Buyers worked with suppliers to develop an enviable range of packaged confectionery. Cadbury led the way with their superior range first of fudge and chocolate confections and then with an innovative range of slab chocolate.

Executives used one technique that had been perfected by the chain's Founder to keep suppliers on their toes. They always made certain that they had two sources for each major product, and then played one vendor off against the other.

For example the Buyer delighted in telling Cadbury's that while their luxury chocolate was delicious, thrifty shoppers would pick Melba's bars which were better value. Cadbury responded with a three ounce (85g) bar for tuppence (1p) and a window display (right).

Weeks later Melba heard that discerning customers preferred the quality of their arch-rival. They added a fine quality half pound (227g) bar for sixpence (2½p), and a two ounce (57g) budget bar for one penny.

Creating the rivalry between supplier partners helped the chain to hold down the prices in-store as inflation pushed their costs upwards during the Thirties. They had to make economies behind the scenes, or accept a lower margin, to ensure that the firm did not switch its allegiance.

In the Thirties the parent company in the USA experimented using more packaging on their goods. They found that bagged candy was a particularly good seller, that appealed to different shoppers from the weigh-out range. The London Buyers followed the lead and introduced a special fixture to display hanging bags of boiled sweets in 1938. At the time the 'Woolco' own brand name also appeared on haberdashery in Britain and on the German company's gramophone records.

By 1939 Woolworth had established an unrivalled confectionery business, dominating the British market and selling vast quantities of pic'n'mix sweets, chocolate and candy bars and biscuits. Such was the chain's stranglehold on the market that most rivals were forced to keep their sweet prices under sixpence, sacrificing margin to remain competitive. Just a year later the world had changed. The abundant displays had disappeared, as Britain went to war. Find out more in our 1940s and rationing exhibit here in the Original Virtual Museum.

Fast links to Original Virtual Museum exhibits

Pic'n'Mix and Sweets Gallery

Yankee Doodle Candy    Tuppence a Quarter    Visit a 1930s Sweet Factory

Rationing in World War II   A new world - the 1950s    Building a legend

Europe's biggest sweet shop     Candy Kings?    The Good Ship Lollipop

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