Before starting the Woolworth Company (now Foot Locker), Woolworth worked at a dry goods store. His boss did not allow him to wait on customers because Woolworth "didn't have enough common sense to serve the customers." The Woolworth Company was one of the original five-and-ten-cent stores, which is the model Sam Walton used to start Walmart. Woolworth's eventually became one of the largest retail chains in the world.