piggly wiggly

Piggly Wiggly (first store above) is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States. The chain was founded in 1916, in Memphis, Tennessee, by the American entrepreneur Clarence Saunders. It was the first true self-service grocery store, a concept patented by Saunders in 1917. Because customers could choose their products directly, packaging and brand recognition became very important. Other grocers soon adopted the self-service format. At its peak, the company was operating 2,660 stores and posting sales of $180 million a year. (source: Wikipedia)