Until the time of his death in October, 1953, Saunders was developing plans for another automatic store system called the "Foodelectric." But the store, which was to be located two blocks from the first Piggly Wiggly store, never opened.Ĭlarence Saunders never fulfilled his dream of opening a truly automated store. Once again, Saunders had captured the country's attention with his latest venture although, mechanical failures eventually closed the store. Then, in 1937, Saunders designed and constructed a prototype of an automated store, which he called the "Keedoozle" (for "Key Does All"). Put employees in uniforms for cleaner, more sanitary food handling.ĭesign and use patented fixtures and equipment throughout the store.įranchise independent grocers to operate under the self-service method of food merchandising.Īfter Saunders' disassociation with Piggly Wiggly®, he opened a chain of stores which operated under the name "Clarence Saunders, Sole Owner of My Name Stores," and although it was successful, the Depression forced Saunders to close the chain. Use refrigerated cases to keep produce fresher longer. Give shoppers more for their food dollar through high volume/low profit margin retailing.įeature a full line of nationally advertised brands. In fact, many of the conveniences and services that American shoppers now enjoy were introduced first by Piggly Wiggly®. Piggly Wiggly's introduction of self-service grocery shopping truly revolutionized the grocery industry. Someone once asked him why he had chosen such an unusual name for his organization, and Saunders' reply was, "So people will ask that very question." He wanted and found a name that would be talked about and remembered. One story is that he saw from a train window several little pigs struggling to get under a fence, and the rhyming name occurred to him then. Saunders' reason for choosing the intriguing name Piggly Wiggly® remains a mystery he was curiously reluctant to explain its origin. Piggly Wiggly Corporation continued to prosper as franchiser for the hundreds of independently owned grocery stores allowed to operate under the Piggly Wiggly name and during the next several decades, functioned successfully under various owners. The stock was successfully traded on the New York Stock Exchange for some time, but through a series of stock transactions in the early 1920s, Saunders lost control of Piggly Wiggly and had no further association with the company. ![]() The original Piggly Wiggly Corporation became owner of all Piggly Wiggly properties: the name, the patents, etc., and Saunders began issuing stock in the Corporation. Piggly Wiggly Corporation, established by Saunders when he opened the first store in Memphis, secured the self-service format and issued franchises to hundreds of grocery retailers for the operation of Piggly Wiggly stores. There were shopping baskets, open shelve and no clerks to shop for the customer-all unheard of! Operating under the unusual name Piggly Wiggly, it was unlike any other grocery store of that time. Saunders, a flamboyant and innovative man, noticed that this method resulted in wasted time and expense, so he came up with an unheard of solution that would revolutionize the entire grocery industry: he developed a way for shoppers to serve themselves.ĭespite predictions that this novel idea would fail, Saunders’ first store opened Septemat 79 Jefferson Street in Memphis. Back then shoppers would present their grocery orders to clerks who then gathered the goods from the store shelves. I work too hard for my money to be treated unfairly, and I was trying to save a trip to.thebank but had to go anyway.Piggly Wiggly®, America’s first true self-service grocery store, was founded in Memphis, Tenn. I respect older people but she needs a lesson in customer service. I was not going to stand there to be humiliated in front of other customers and workers like we are yet living in the early 1900s. And as I was walking out of the stores she ask some of the workers did they know me. She gonna ask me did I know someone name Allen, and I was very upset because she made it seem like I was committing a crime or something. ![]() I stayed to her that I don't no you either but I shop here every week. Then repeated again I don't know you, Mary know alot of y'all( whatever that statement suppose to have meant). She proceed to check some book, then said I don't see it in the book so I'm going to say no. She stated well I don't know you and due you mind I look in the book, I said yes you can, whatever you need to do. She then ask me have I been there before and I said yes, evèr week. On my visit to the locate store today there was an older lady managing, she ask what she could help me with and I presented my check along with my driver's license. ![]() I have cashed payroll checks many many times and never had an issue until today. I have shopped at Piggly Wiggly in Bay Minette, Alabama for a number of years.
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