EXECUTIVE OFFICE 1.
ALL OFFICES 1234 New York, March 30, 1916.
In my position as Vice President and General Manager of this great corporation it would give me great pleasure to meet every office man, manager, and assistant manager, and give you all a cordial handshake and a word of assurance that I am with you one and all to make this business greater, both as to volume and profits, and more efficient, as to management as time goes on.
I have had the pleasure of meeting all of the district office managers and buyers, and a few of the store managers, since January, firsthand and this letter is to extend to everyone of you the hand of good fellowship and ask you for your hearty support, and best efforts to further the interests of the great corporation of F. W. Woolworth Co that we all love so dearly.
In the year 1915 a wonderful record for the business was made. The total sales of $75,995,774 showed an increase of almost 10 per cent. This record, however, is far behind the record we have made for January and February of this year, as, for the first two months we showed a gain of 14 per cent, in sales, so that we have started the year right for a wonderful record for the year 1916.
The buyers are keen to their responsibility of getting merchandise and are leaving no stones unturned to get the best goods to be had, and get supply enough to keep your stocks in good condition.
The district office managers and assistants are sending out from time to time helpful information in the way of general letters telling how to increase the business and reduce expense. These letters are personal talks with the store managers, and from the early history of the business have been one of the strong features in keeping managers in touch with the business and helping them to forge ahead.
The merchandise men in the district offices are constantly in touch with the buyers, either by mail or personal visits to New York so as to get the best service from a merchandise point of view for
the stores under their care.
All of this preparation in the way of buying and distributing merchandise, and advice and instruction from the Executive Office and district offices, go for naught unless we have the right man at the store as manager who will profit by all of this information and turn it into proper channels for sales and profits.
The life of this business is dependent on good managers
And we look to everyone of you to do your best and realize that this corporation has placed in your care a sacred trust, supplying you with all the material and money you need to run a successful store. We do not place you under surety bond as a guarantee that you will take care of our property, but we do place everyone of you under the bond of honor, and trust you to render the best service possible in appreciation of bur faith. We place you in possession of information that shows you where” the merchandise can be had, but it is right up to you to get the proper merchandise for your particular trade.
In order that you nay turn in the best results possible, you should have the support and co-operation of your assistant and every clerk and man in your employ. Don’t try to direct everything from your office, but get in close touch with your help and let them feel your personality through all the store. Give a word of encouragement
GREETING, CT’D
New
York, March 20, 1915.
or approval when good work is done. Show the clerks how you want things done and then encourage them to do it that way. If you will get the element of personality through your store it will be your store and you will find that everyone will be trying to carry out your ideas for the better and bigger business.
Mr. Griswold gave us the watchword of “Co-operation” and this great thought should permeate your whole store, and from the store it rises through you to district office and through the district office to the Executive Office. From the head of this office to the clerks in the stores we want that feeling of co-operation to be uppermost in our minds, as we are all working for one common end to the uplift of the business of F. W. Woolworth Co.
During the past year we have had to discharge and replace sixty-one managers who did not measure up to the Woolworth standard. We have also dropped eighty-eight assistant managers who were not making good and would never become managers of Woolworth stores.
All the above managers and assistants were either incompetent, dishonest, or immoral, and when we find a manager or assistant manager with any of these faults we immediately get rid of him as we cannot afford to keep within our family anyone who cannot live up to the Woolworth standard.
There is always room at the top and there is nothing more gratifying to the management of this business than to see assistant managers make good and become managers of their first store and from this point to rise to better and more responsible positions as store managers, eventually to become office men and directors of this great business. We always have our eyes on you to find good managers who are showing that they are fit for positions higher up.
Our business in 1915 increased less than 10 per cent, but the managers of the stores received over Two Million Dollars as compensation, which is about 11 per cent, more than they received in 1914. Every dollar of increased profits in the business increases the personal income of managers. Make that increase in your store and reap the benefit yourself.
Our organization has been pointed to by many successful
business men as one of the finest bodies of commercial men that could
be banded together in one company. We are proud of our reputation and
we want everyone of you office men and managers, and everyone connected
with this business to take a pride in the quality of our men, and if
at any time one of our great family should fail or go wrong it is your
duty to yourself and to the rest of your associates to bring such a
man to the attention of the Executives and have his case passed upon
for the good of the business.
From time to time you may have ideas that will benefit the business in one way or another and we want you to open up and give us those ideas for the benefit of the whole business, as every scheme that makes money for our store may help some other manager.
(Continued)
EXECUTIVE OFFICE. 3 GREETING, CT’D. New York, March 20, 1916 |
Remember that we are all one great family and the executive Office is home. Don’t fail to come into the Executive Office whenever you are in the neighborhood of New York, and remember that the latchstring is out on the door of every buyer and every executive in this office and we are always ready and pleased to see any member of the Woolworth family.
As Vice President and General Manager of this corporation I will deem it a pleasure to see every office man or store manager that comes to the Executive Office, and I want you to make it a point to come in my office and make yourself known and I assure you all a hearty welcome and my full support and co-operation.
Let us all work together for the greatest record in 1916 that F. w. Woolworth Co has ever had!
Yours very truly,