When young Woolworth was a store clerk, he tried to convince his boss to have a ten-cent sale to reduce inventory .
The boss agreed, and the idea was a resounding success. This inspired Woolworth to open his own store and price items at a nickel and a dime. He needed capital for such a venture , so he asked his boss to supply the capital for part interest in the store.
His boss turned him down flat. “The idea is too risky,” he told Woolworth. “There are not enough items to sell for five and ten cents.”
Woolworth went ahead without his boss's backing, and he not only was successful in his first store, but eventually he owned a chain of Woolworth stores across the nation.
Later, his former boss was heard to remark, “As far as I can figure out, every word I used to turn Woolworth down cost me about a million dollars.”
伍尔沃斯年轻的时候是一家商店的店员，他力劝老板开展“全场十美分”的促销活动，用以减少库存。
老板表示赞成，这个想法大获成功，反响强烈。伍尔沃斯备受鼓舞，决定自己开一家店，店内商品一律标价五美分或十美分。他为筹集资金开业，请求老板出资，承诺到时以部分股息回报。
老板断然回绝。“你这想法太冒险了，”他告诉伍尔沃斯，“哪有那么多商品能五美分、十美分地卖呢？”
伍尔沃斯尽管没能得到老板的支持，他的店还是开业了，不光第一家店成功了，最后他在全国各地都开了分店。
后来，有人听到他之前的老板说了这样的话：“据我计算，过去我为拒绝伍尔沃斯说出的每一个字都值一百万美元哪。”
-inventory [ˈɪnvəntrɪ] n. 存货清单
-resounding [rɪˈzaʊndɪŋ] adj. 反响的
-venture [ˈventʃə(r)] n. 商业，企业
Woolworths超级市场在澳洲的官方中文媒体的译名为胡禾夫，当地人多将其简称为“Woolies”。该超市在1924年12月5日开了自己的第一家商店，店铺位于便宜得惊人的Pitt街一座地下室中。如今Woolworths是澳大利亚最大的食品零售商，为顾客提供服务的历史有近90年，在全国范围内总共有1114家分店，员工超过125000人。据统计，每100个澳大利亚劳动力中就有一个被该公司雇用。