public with Carl Bennett serving as president, director, and chairman of the board, and Dorothy as treasurer and director. Carl's brother Harry Bennett served as vice president. That same year fire destroyed the Norwalk store and all of its contents. Ever resourceful, Caldor continued to serve the Norwalk community by operating out of three temporary stores close to the damaged outlet, which was quickly being rebuilt. Despite this setback that destroyed nearly seven months of inventory, the company posted an increase in sales of approximately 43% over the previous year. Part of Caldor's financial success was convincing vendors of Caldor's billing incentives. Caldor got most, if not all, of their vendors to agree to a 2% 10/net 30–60 format. This meant if they paid the vendors within 10 days of receipt, Caldor got 2% off or a net payment within 30 or 60 days. This saved the company a substantial amount of money which allowed them to pass savings on to their customers and to promote their extremely fast growth. Accelerated growth By 1963, Caldor had stores in Peekskill, NY, and Danbury, Hamden, CT, Norwalk, and Riverside, CT, in addition to the original location in Port Chester, NY. Staying true to its belief in the benefits of regionalization each new store was planned in close proximity to Caldor's headquarters. In November of that year Caldor's common stock, which had split two for one in September, began trading on the American Stock Exchange. In 1966, Caldor opened its ninth store. Its management, sales, and executive board were also expanded in size and depth. A report written that same year by The Value Line Investment Survey, one of Wall Street's most influential investment advisory services, recognized Caldor as a company growing at a rate of advance faster than that of Xerox Corporation. During the remainder of the 1960s and the 1970s, the economy saw years of booming consumer consumption, as well as contraction and recession. Throughout these changing times and varied economic climates Caldor continued to show healthy profits and expansion. Many Caldor competitors, such as E.J. Korvette, Grand Way Stores, Two Guys, and W. T. Grant, did not fare as well and would shut down. In 1976, Caldor took over seven stores formerly operated by the defunct W. T. Grant, giving Caldor immediate access to locations that were already zoned for retail outlets and access to fast-tracked expansion. According to Bennett,