Piggly Wiggly facts for kids
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Trade name
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Piggly Wiggly |
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| Private, Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | September 6, 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Founder | Clarence Saunders |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Number of locations
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499 (2020) |
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Areas served
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| Products | Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks |
| Services | Supermarket |
| Parent | C&S Wholesale Grocers |
Piggly Wiggly is a famous American supermarket chain. It has stores mostly in the Southern and Midwestern parts of the United States. Piggly Wiggly, LLC runs these stores, and it's part of a bigger company called C&S Wholesale Grocers. The very first Piggly Wiggly store opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee. This store was special because it was the first true "self-service" grocery store. It also started many things we see in supermarkets today, like checkout stands, prices on every item, and shopping carts. The main office for Piggly Wiggly is in Keene, New Hampshire. Today, there are almost 500 Piggly Wiggly stores. They are owned by different people and are mostly found in smaller cities and towns across 18 states.
Contents
The Story of Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly was the first grocery store where customers could pick out their own items. It was started by a man named Clarence Saunders. The first store opened on September 6, 1916, in Memphis, Tennessee. You can even see a copy of the original store at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium. This museum is in a big house that Saunders built for himself.
How Grocery Stores Used to Work
Before Piggly Wiggly, grocery shopping was very different. Customers would give a list of what they wanted to a store clerk. The clerk would then go around the store and gather all the items. This way of shopping cost more money and made prices higher.
A New Way to Shop
Piggly Wiggly changed everything. It let customers walk through the store themselves and pick up what they wanted. This new idea helped cut costs and lower prices for shoppers. Even though some items might have been stolen more easily, people bought more things on impulse. This meant the store still made more money. Other stores also started trying this "self-service" idea, calling it a "groceteria." This name was like "cafeterias," which were also new self-service places.
Clarence Saunders even got a special patent for his self-service store idea in 1917. When customers came into a Piggly Wiggly store, they walked through a turnstile. Then, they followed a path through four aisles. They could see all 605 items, which were neatly organized into different sections. As they walked, they picked out their groceries. Finally, they reached the cashier to pay. This new way of shopping made packaging and brand names very important for both companies and shoppers.
Piggly Wiggly was the first store to:
- Have special checkout stands where you pay.
- Put a price on every single item in the store.
- Give customers shopping carts to use. This started in 1937 in Oklahoma.
Growing and Changing
Piggly Wiggly became very popular, and many other grocery stores copied its self-service style in the 1920s and 1930s. At its busiest time in 1932, there were 2,660 Piggly Wiggly stores. They made over $180 million in sales each year.
Later, the company faced some financial challenges. Clarence Saunders tried to control the company's stock, but it didn't work out as planned. He ended up losing a lot of money. After this, the company was split up. Different parts were sold to other big grocery chains like Kroger and Safeway. Even the Piggly Wiggly stores in Canada were sold to Canada Safeway.
Clarence Saunders no longer worked with Piggly Wiggly after these events. But he kept trying out new ideas for automated shopping until he passed away in 1953. Even after all these changes, hundreds of Piggly Wiggly stores kept operating under special agreements.
Why the Name "Piggly Wiggly"?
The company's website says that Clarence Saunders didn't really want to explain how he came up with the name. But there are two popular ideas:
- One story says he was on a train and saw some small pigs trying to get under a fence. This made him think of a rhyme.
- Another time, someone asked him why he chose such a strange name. He simply replied, "So people will ask that very question!"
Piggly Wiggly Today
In 1982, a company called Malone & Hyde bought Piggly Wiggly. Then, in 1988, Fleming Companies bought Malone & Hyde. Later, in 2003, C&S Wholesale Grocers bought most of Fleming's business, including Piggly Wiggly. C&S also bought other Piggly Wiggly groups, like Piggly Wiggly Carolina in 2013 and Piggly Wiggly Midwest in 2021.
Today, there are more than 600 Piggly Wiggly stores. They are all owned and run by different people. These stores are located in 17 states. The main office is still in Keene, New Hampshire.
Some Piggly Wiggly stores in Alabama have even formed their own group. It's called Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing Company. This group helps manage how products are sent to their stores.
Piggly Wiggly stores are mostly found in medium to smaller cities and towns. They are a big part of many rural communities. In bigger cities, you might find larger supermarkets with more choices. These bigger stores often try to attract more upscale customers. To compete, Piggly Wiggly was one of the first stores to offer a loyalty card. This card gives discounts to customers who sign up, just like many other big stores do.
