The Annual Report for the year ending 31st December 1959 reports sales, profits and dividends all up - way, way, way up.

The importance of being Woolworth

It was confidently believed that these plans would help make the Jubilee year a golden one. The accounts published elsewhere in this report seem to show this confidence was not misplaced.

Above: The 1959 Annual Report shows that the fine art of understatement was very much alive and well at the time. 

The 1959 annual report proved that sometimes investors can literally have their cake and eat it. Every investor got a gold pen from Watermans and better still everybody got 2/11d (14.5p) on every 5/- (25p), a one year return of more than 50%

The Woolworths jubilee logo from 1959 featured a shopping basket. The concept was adapted to make the Winfield basket logo of the 1960s and 70s

100 reasons why : the 1959 experience

Trading Context

  1. In 1958 there was stiff competition, had Woolies had its day?
  2. Footfall had fallen despite rapid store openings - there were less customers
  3. Government instructed all shops to find ways of cutting prices
  4. New laws were forcing higher wages and shorter hours
  5. Most stores were looking quaint and old fashioned

What the Board did about it

  1. After a big debate they decided to celebrate the Golden Jubilee big-time
  2. Product and value focus with a huge advertising campaign (press and first TV)
  3. Store-wide signage and leaflets (but an economy drive to pay for all this)
  4. Extensive deep price cuts, in every department, especially low price food
  5. Replaced 800 stores' incandescent lighting with flourescent during 1959

The results from the annual report

  1. A spectacular 20% (yes twenty percent) increase in sales
  2. A £2m (18%) increase in net profit
  3. A £4m (33%) increase in adjusted profit
  4. Cash reserves increased by £2m despite increase capital spend
  5. A footfall recovery of epic proportions with almost 30% more visitors

The long-term impacts

  1. F. W. Woolworth stock moved to the second largest on the FTSE (after ICI)
  2. Sales and profits both rose by a further 10% in 1960-61
  3. The footfall won back was retained for the next five years
  4. Customer perception of value rose dramatically and the quality index rose too
  5. Flourescent lighting reduced energy costs and shrinkage
  6. TV advertising was "no longer needed" and was not used again until 1975
  7. Woolworths pioneered double-page spread press adverts to keep momentum
  8. The company received record press coverage of jubilee events in local press
  9. The new Woolworth House, aka "242" was given marble stairs top to bottom
  10. Store staff clubbed together to buy a "Cornucopia of Plenty" statue that they called Susie after "every common sales girl" as a thank you gift for the Board. (Now, be honest, you couldn't make number 50 up!)

Value and Selection at your friendly Woolworth Store (1959)