Clarence Saunders (grocer)
Clarence Saunders (August 9, 1881 – October 14, 1953) was an American
Early life
Saunders was born on a farm in
In Clarksville Saunders met Carolyn Amy Walker, the daughter of a prominent Illinois attorney. Despite their contrasting backgrounds, they were married on 6 October 1903. The following year they moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where Saunders took up positions working for the wholesale grocers Shanks, Phillips & Co, as well as William Cole Early. Memphis in this period was booming — the population had soared from 33,000 in 1880 to more than 100,000 by the time the Saunders' arrived. A major river point and railroad junction between the north and south, Memphis was a key distributor of goods to towns and cities throughout the region, whilst cotton merchants often served the dual role of selling wholesale supplies to farms and plantations as well, such that wholesaling was one of the largest industries in Memphis and one of its most lucrative.[3]
In February 1913, he created United Stores, Inc., with 21 retail customers, giving Shanks, Phillips control of wholesale purchasing and advertising. A jointly owned United Store was opened in June 1914. Saunders' three children, Lee, Clarence Jr., and Amy Carolyn, were born in 1903, 1909 and 1912 respectively.[4]: 12, 15, 18, 20
Piggly Wiggly
On September 11, 1916, Saunders launched the self-service revolution in the United States by opening the first self-service Piggly Wiggly store, at 79 Jefferson Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Saunders had renovated his United Store, removing old countertops, and replacing them with characteristic turnstiles at the entrance and exit, and cabinets arranged along a continuous path, which ended at a cashier stand complete with adding machine and cash register. The 1,125 square feet (104.5 m2) store included a front lobby, the continuous-path middle salesroom, and rear stockroom.[4]: 23–24, 34
The store incorporated
Saunders then listed Piggly Wiggly shares on the New York Stock Exchange in February 1922. In April of 1922, the company sold 50,000 new shares on the market at $43 a share.[5]: 261 [4]: 62
In 1921, there were 615 stores in 200 cities and 40 states. By 1923, Piggly Wiggly had grown into 1,267 stores, 667 owned by the company and the rest owned by franchisees. The company employed 250 people in Memphis. Stock in Piggly Wiggly Stores, Inc., paid a dividend of 11%.[4]
The success of Piggly Wiggly encouraged a raft of imitators, including Handy Andy stores, Helpy Selfy stores, Mick-or-Mack stores and Jitney Jungle, all of which operated under patented systems.[6]
Wall Street raid
In the early 1920s Saunders began construction of a pink marble mansion in Memphis. Then, in early 1923, a group of franchised outlets in
In the words of John Brooks, "...in mid-August, with the September 1st deadline for repayment of two and a half million dollars on his loan staring him in the face and with nothing like that amount of cash either on hand or in prospect, he resigned as president of Piggly Wiggly Stores, Inc., and turned over his assets—his stock in the company, his Pink Palace, and all the rest of his property—to his creditors."[5]
The Pink Palace mansion eventually became Memphis' first museum in 1930.[4]: 86
Sole Owner stores
In 1928, Saunders went on to create the Clarence Saunders, Sole Owner of My Name Stores, Inc. grocery chain. The chain, which was known to the public as Sole Owner stores, initially flourished. However the chain went into bankruptcy in 1930 during the Great Depression.[5]: 280–281
The Tigers football team
In the late 1920s, to promote his newest grocery venture, Saunders founded a professional football team. The full name of the team was the Clarence Saunders Sole Owner of My Name Tigers, but it was usually just called The Tigers. The Tigers played professional teams from around the country, including the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. In 1929, the Tigers beat the Green Bay Packers 20–6. In 1930 the National Football League invited The Tigers to join their organization, but Saunders refused their offer. It is said that Saunders disbanded his football team because he did not like to travel to other cities for away games.[8][4]: 116–117
Keedoozle
On November 22, 1935, Saunders chartered the prototype of an automated store. He named it Keedoozle, which some assumed stood for "key does it all", but Saunders stated was just made up, as was Piggly Wiggly.[4]: 135
The Keedoozle was an automated store, similar to very large
Saunders developed two versions of the Keedoozle. The first was in 1937, which was abandoned when the US entered World War II. Saunders returned to the idea in 1948, opening an improved version. Saunders sold twelve franchises of the revised concept. In 1949 he predicted "In five years there will be a thousand Keedoozles throughout the US, selling $5 billion worth of goods."[9]
Foodelectric
Until the time of his death, Saunders was developing plans for another automatic store system called the "Foodelectric". The Foodelectric concept is a clear predecessor to
The store operates so automatically that the customer can collect her groceries herself, wrap them and act as her own cashier. It eliminates the checkout crush, cuts overhead expenses and enables a small staff to handle a tremendous volume... I can handle a $2 million volume with only eight employees.[10]
The central invention was a primitive computer, or "shopping brain" which was loaned to the shopper, who then roamed among the store's glass-enclosed items.[11]
The store, which was to be located two blocks from the first Piggly Wiggly store in downtown Memphis, never opened.
Personal life
Clarence and Carolyn divorced on September 27, 1928, and Clarence married Patricia Houston Bamberg on December 20, 1928.[4]: 113
During World War II, Saunders made toy wagons, baby strollers and broomsticks.[4]: 149
He died in 1953.
Miscellaneous
Saunders was one of the first[
Patent
- U.S. patent 1,242,872 - Self-serving store—C. Saunders
References
- ^ Freeman 2011, p. 9.
- ^ Freeman 2011, p. 10-12.
- ISBN 9780870499975.
- ^ ISBN 9781609492854.
- ^ ISBN 9781497644892.
- ^ Economics of Retailing; Paul Henry Nystrom, 1930,
- ^ The Wall Street Journal, Jun 23, 1923
- ^ Lauderdale, Vance "Ask Vance: Coach Houses", Memphis Magazine, March 1, 2008
- ^ Life magazine, Jan 3, 1949, p36
- ISBN 0-7614-7761-6
- ^ Mehling, H (August 9, 1956). "They're Putting the Glamour in the Groceries". Saturday Evening Post. 229 (6): 32–58. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
Further reading
- Freeman, Mike (2011). Clarence Saunders & the Founding of Piggly Wiggly: The Rise and Fall of a Memphis Maverick. Charleston, SC: History Press. ISBN 978-1-60949-285-4.