|
WT Grant
W. T. Grant or Grants was a United States-based chain of mass-merchandise stores founded by William Thomas Grant that operated from 1906 until 1976. The stores were generally of the variety store format located in downtowns. History In 1906 the first "W. T. Grant Co. 25 Cent Store" opened in Lynn, Massachusetts. Modest profit, coupled with a fast turnover of inventory, caused the stores to grow to almost $100 million annual sales by 1936, the same year that William Thomas Grant started the W. T. Grant Foundation. By the time Grant died in 1972 at age 96, his chain of W. T. Grant Stores had grown to almost 1,200. At the company's end, headquarters were atop One Astor Plaza, a prominent building of New York City's skyline on Times Square. Like many national chain stores and some larger department stores, Grant arranged for a low price exclusive record label, Diva Records, Diva. Columbia Records produced this label which consisted of titles also issued on Columbia's general sale H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Thomas Grant
William Thomas Grant (1876–1972) was the founder of a chain of U.S. mass-merchandise stores bearing his name, W. T. Grant, and an important American philanthropist. Biography Grant was born in Stevensville, Bradford County, Pennsylvania; his family moved to Massachusetts when he was approximately 5 years of age. At age 7 Grant began his sales career by selling flower seeds. Years later, he wanted to sell people what they needed at prices they could afford, with only a modest profit. In 1906, at 30 years of age he opened his first "W. T. Grant Co. 25 Cent Store" in Lynn, Massachusetts.T.F. Bradshaw. "Superior Methods Created the Early Chain Store." Bulletin of the Business Historical Society, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Apr. 1943) His initial capital was $1,000 he had saved from his work as a salesman. This modest profit, coupled with a fast turnover of inventory, caused Grant's business to grow to almost $100 million in annual sales by 1936, the same year that he started the Will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |