Goldbergs facts for kids

A. Goldberg and Sons Ltd, known to many as Goldbergs, was a famous Scottish shop company. It started with just one store in Glasgow in 1908. By 1990, it had grown into a huge chain with more than 100 shops!

Goldbergs was known for being very modern. It was one of the first shops to use a special computer system for sales. It also had its own credit card for customers. Their amazing store in Edinburgh was super cool for its time. It had a cafe on the top floor with a garden, moving escalators, a play area for kids, and even a place for exotic birds!

The Story of Goldbergs: From One Shop to Many

A. Goldberg & Sons was started in 1908 by Abraham Goldberg. He was an immigrant from Eastern Europe who came to Glasgow. He first started a small business making clothes from fabric bales to sell to other shops. Later, in the 1920s, he moved his business to Candleriggs in Glasgow.

Building a Retail Empire

Abraham Goldberg was the boss from 1908 to 1934. Then, his two sons, Ephraim and Michael, took over. They helped the company grow even bigger. They made it a public company, meaning people could buy shares in it.

In 1960, they built a fantastic new department store in Tollcross, Edinburgh. This building was very modern for its time. It had escalators, automatic doors, and huge glass windows. The store was famous for its amazing window displays, especially at Christmas. People loved to see them!

Inside, the Edinburgh store was a wonderland. It had a restaurant on the roof with a garden and views of Edinburgh Castle. There was also a nursery for kids, a funfair, and an aviary filled with colorful, exotic birds to keep children entertained.

Expanding Across Scotland

From 1970 to 1974, Goldbergs opened many more stores. These shops were in towns like Falkirk, Ayr, Paisley, Kirkcaldy, Motherwell, Dundee, Kilmarnock, Airdrie, Dunfermline, East Kilbride, and Greenock. Each of these stores was about 7500 square feet (700 square meters). They sold clothes for families, things for the home, and electronics.

In 1974, Abraham's grandson, Mark Goldberg, became the chairman. Goldbergs was one of the few Scottish companies on the Stock Exchange in the mid-1980s. A member of the Goldberg family always led the company.

Goldbergs' Smart Technology: EPoS Systems

In the mid-1970s, Goldbergs became the first shop in Europe to use a full electronic point of sale ((EPoS)) system. This was a computer system that helped record all sales. Before this, about 500 people had to write down every sale in special books! This was very expensive and made long queues in the shops.

Some of the Goldbergs bosses visited the US to learn about new ideas. They talked to experts about how to make their sales system better and save money. They decided to wait for IBM to create a new computer system. This system helped Goldbergs save a lot of money on staff and made queues disappear. It also helped IBM enter the European market!

Growing Bigger: New Shops and Brands

In 1979, Goldbergs launched a new chain of shops called Wrygges. These stores sold trendy clothes for young women aged 15 to 24. To pay for this, Goldbergs also opened three more department stores. Two were in Scotland, and their first shop in England was in Blackpool. Goldbergs also owned the shoe shop Schuh and had a big part in the Ted Baker fashion business.

The Stylecard: Goldbergs' Own Credit Card

Goldbergs had its own way for customers to buy things on credit. Customers could pay over three months and get a 5% discount if they paid on time. This idea grew into the "Style" credit card. It worked well because Goldbergs already had many customers and the new EPoS system.

The Style credit card started in 1982. It worked like other credit cards: you didn't pay interest if you paid your bill each month. If you needed more time, you could make smaller payments but would pay interest.

Goldbergs also invested in a large new warehouse outside Glasgow. This warehouse was 61,000 square feet (5,700 square meters) and helped them send products to all their stores.

By 1984, the Stylecard wasn't just for Goldbergs stores. You could use it at other places like Kwik-Fit (for car repairs) and A T Mays travel agents. Eventually, the Royal Bank of Scotland took over the Stylecard.

The End of Goldbergs

In 1989, another company tried to buy Goldbergs, but it didn't work out. Goldbergs then faced big financial problems and lost £10 million. In 1990, the company closed down.

The main Goldbergs store in Candleriggs, Glasgow, was bought in 1994. It reopened as a discount clothes shop called Weisfelds. However, this shop closed in 1999, and the building became empty and run-down. Part of the building was even knocked down in 2002 after a nearby building collapsed.

Selfridges, another big department store company, bought the site. They planned to build their first Scottish store there, but those plans were stopped in 2007.

After a lot of pressure from Glasgow City Council, Selfridges started knocking down the old Goldbergs buildings in late 2013. They planned to make the area a landscaped space for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. But in May 2014, Selfridges sold the site to another developer.

In September 2021, work began on a new project called Candleriggs Square. This project will build homes, student accommodation, and new shops where the old Goldbergs building once stood.