Posted on 01/03/2015 8:27:21 AM PST by kingattax
Hard to imagine that from this simple image emerged a supermarket global empire
I loved TG&Y. As a kid, I used to make a beeline to the back of the store, where the books were. Always loved looking over the Big Little Books, the Golden Nature Guides, and the Golden Sticker books. Lots of coloring books, too.
Also associate the place with those little metal Tootsie-toys, of cars and trucks and such. I think they barely cost over a dime each. I still have most of them around here somewhere, although a lot of the paint on them has flicked off.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TG%26Y
The article mentions that some of the TG&Y stores were bought by McCrory’s. There was a McCrory’s in downtown Pittsburgh. Had a restaurant in the basement, but it was reputed to be unsanitary.
Sam learned his logistics in the military. Walmart tried to buy “all American” goods but found that it couldn’t. Too many things not made in USA. Too many empty shelves and unhappy customers. A real shame we don’t make much stuff anymore.
I’m thinking it was the store on Woodward in downtown Detroit. There was a Woolworth a block away, and both had lunch counters. I used to eat and shop at both as late as 1979 when I worked downtown at National Bank of Detroit.
A real shame we don’t make much stuff anymore....Thank the Unions (Look for the Union Label).
TGY I bought lots of products there years ago. I bought a Winchester 1894 brand new for $45.00 back in 1971.
Found a newspaper clipping about the dispute.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19741021&id=kWkqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xVUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2136,2665598
We had Woolworth, Kresgie and Neisners...
Thanks.
I’m getting a giggle out of the ads. Looks like newspapers were still advertising cigarettes back then.
You cannot score if you don’t take the shot.
Yes, we had a Ben Franklin in Waldorf, Md.
What’s replaced the “five and dimes”?
“Dollar stores”, of course. Inflation...
On that note, we did some Christmas shopping for a charity run by a friend. Filled up a cart each at Target and Wal-Mart toy sections, to get the sort of things she needed. This was a week or ten days before Christmas.
The Target toy section was neat and orderly.
The Wal-Mart toy section looked like a bomb had gone off.
Stores are maybe a half mile apart, so same upscale suburb.
FWIW, this source claims WM lagged behind several other large retailers in tapping into Asian sources.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/secrets/shots.html
I’ve seen other sources claiming as late as 1984 WM imported only 6% of what it sold.
I suspect at least part of the Walmart/import connection is a projection of recent policies back several decades before they were in place.
... On May 1, 1962, guests in the Twin Cities area wake to the news of Target's first grand opening in Roseville, Minn. Heralded as a, "new idea in discount stores," Target differentiates itself from other retail stores by combining many of the best department store features — fashion, quality and service — with the low prices of a discounter. Created as, "a store you can be proud to shop in, a store you can have confidence in, a store that is fun to shop and exciting to visit," by the end of 1962, Target opens additional locations in St. Louis Park, Crystal and Duluth, Minn.
That’s one of the chains I think Walmart bought ...
I’ll take Bentonville for $800 Alex...
Oh, just ducky...now I'm a-gonna have an earworm all day....
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart at 719 W. Walnut Street in Rogers, Arkansas.
Headquarters are in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Enabling the middle class to buy goods for less money does not make it dwindle.
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