įollowing these events, the company was divided into strategic units, which were sold to regional grocery chains, including Kroger, Safeway, National Tea, and Colonial. Saunders reputedly lost $9 million in the attempted corner. The Stock Exchange Governors responded by deciding that a corner had been established in Piggly Wiggly and removed the stock from the Board, eventually forcing Saunders to turn over his assets to the banks that had financed his leveraged position. In November 1922, Saunders attempted a squeeze on the substantial short interest in the stock, running the share price up from 40 to 120 and profiting by millions on paper. At its peak in 1932, the company operated 2,660 stores and posted annual sales in excess of $180 million. The success of Piggly Wiggly was phenomenal, and other independent and chain grocery stores changed to self-service in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1937, Piggly Wiggly became the first company to provide shopping carts for customers, in their Oklahoma branch they were also the first company to use point of sale lanes for payment. Instantly, packaging and brand recognition became important to companies and consumers alike.

The customers selected merchandise as they continued through the maze to the cashier. Customers at Piggly Wiggly entered the store through a turnstile and walked through four aisles to view the 605 items sold in packages and organized into departments. The concept of the 'self-serving store' was patented by Saunders in 1917. Piggly Wiggly Corporation secured the self-service format and issued franchises to hundreds of grocery retailers to operate its stores. Others were initially experimenting with this format, which came to be known as a 'groceteria', reminding people of cafeterias, another relatively new, self-service idea. Losses due to easier shoplifting were more than offset by profits from increased impulse purchasing. Piggly Wiggly introduced the innovation of allowing customers to go through the store, gathering their goods, thus cutting costs and lowering prices. This created greater costs and higher prices. Instead, a customer would give a list of items to a clerk, who would then collect them throughout the store. A replica of the original store has been constructed in the Memphis Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium, a mansion that Saunders built as his private residence, which was later sold to the city.Īt the time of its founding, grocery stores did not allow customers to gather their goods. It was founded on Septem (although it did not open until five days later due to delays in construction), at 79 Jefferson Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, by Clarence Saunders. Piggly Wiggly was the first self-service grocery store.

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