TheInnovation of Grocery Stores
A
At thebeginning of the 20th century, grocery stores in the United States werefull-service. A customer would ask a clerk behind the counter for specificitems and the clerk would package the items, which were limited to dry goods.If they want to save some time, they have to ask a delivery boy or bythemselves to send the note of what they want to buy to the grocery store firstand then go to pay for the goods later. These grocery stores usually carriedonly one brand of each good. There were early chain stores, such as the A&PStores, but these were all entirely full-service and very time-consuming.
B
In 1885,a Virginia boy named Clarence Saunders began working part-time as a clerk in agrocery store when he was 14 years old, and quit school when the shopkeeperoffered him full-time work with room and board. Later he worked in an Alabamacoke plant and in a Tennessee sawmill before he returned to the grocerybusiness. By 1900, when he was nineteen years old, he was earning $30 a monthas a salesman for a wholesale grocer. During his years working in the grocerystores, he found that it was very inconvenient and inefficient for people tobuy things because more than a century ago, long before there were computers,shopping was done quite differently than it is today. Entering a store, thecustomer would approach the counter (or wait for a clerk to become available)and place an order, either verbally or, as was often the case for boys runningerrands, in the form of a note or list. While the customer waited, the clerkwould move behind the counter and throughout the store, select the items on thelist—some form shelves so high that long-handled grasping device had to beused—and bring them back to the counter to be tallied and bagged or boxed. Theprocess might be expedited by the customer calling or sending in the orderbeforehand, or by the order being handed by a delivery boy on a bike, butotherwise it did not vary greatly. Saunders, a flamboyant and innovative man,noticed that this method resulted in wasted time and expense, so he came upwith an unheard-of solution that would revolutionize the entire groceryindustry: he developed a way for shoppers to serve themselves.
C
So in1902 he moved to Memphis where he developed his concept to form a grocerywholesale cooperative and a full-service grocery store. For his new 'cafeteriagrocery', Saunders divided his grocery into three distinct areas:
1) Afront 'lobby' forming an entrance and exit and checkouts at the front. 2) Asales department, which was specially designed to allow customers to roam theaisles and select their own groceries. Removing unnecessary clerks, creatingelaborate aisle displays, and rearranging the store to force customers to viewall of the merchandise and over the shelving and cabinets units of salesdepartment were 'galleries' where supervisors were allowed to keep an eye onthe customers while not disturbing them. 3) And another section of his store isthe room only allowed for the clerks which was called the 'stockroom' or'storage room' where large refrigerators were situated to keep fresh productsfrom being perishable. The new format allowed multiple customers to shop at thesame time, and led to the previously unknown phenomenon of impulse shopping.Though this format of grocery market was drastically different from itscompetitors, the style became the standard for the modem grocery store andlater supermarket.
D
OnSeptember 6, 1916, Saunders launched the self-service revolution in the USA byopening the first self- service Piggly Wiggly store, at 79 Jefferson Street inMemphis, Tennessee, with its characteristic turnstile at the entrance.Customers paid cash and selected their own goods from the shelves. It wasunlike any other grocery store of that time. Inside a Piggly Wiggly, shopperswere not at the mercy of shop clerks. They were free to roam the store, checkout the merchandise and get what they needed with their own two hands and feet.Prices on items at Piggly Wiggly were clearly marked. No one pressuredcustomers to buy milk or pickles. And the biggest benefit at the Piggly Wigglywas that shoppers saved money. Self-service was a positive all around. 'It'sgood for both the consumer and retailer because it cuts costs, ' noted GeorgeT. Haley, a professor at the University of New Haven and director of the Centerfor International Industry Competitiveness. 'If you looked at the way grocerystores were run previous to Piggly Wiggly and Alpha Beta, what you find is thatthere was a tremendous amount of labor involved, and labor is a major expense.' Piggly Wiggly cut the fat.
E
PigglyWiggly and the self-service concept took off. Saunders opened nine stores inthe Memphis area within the first year of business. Consumers embraced theefficiency, the simplicity and most of all the lower food prices. Saunders soonpatented his self-service concept, and began franchising Piggly Wiggly stores.Thanks to the benefits of self-service and franchising, Piggly Wiggly balloonedto nearly 1, 300 stores by 1923. Piggly Wiggly sold $100 million—worth $1. 3billion today—in groceries, making it the third-biggest grocery retailer in thenation. The company's stock was even listed on the New York Stock Exchange,doubling from late 1922 to March 1923. Saunders had his hands all over PigglyWiggly. He was instrumental in the design and layout of his stores. He eveninvented the turnstile.
F
HoweverSaunders was forced into bankruptcy in 1923 after a dramatic spat with the NewYork Stock Exchange and he went on to create the "Clarence Saunderssole-owner-of-my-name" chain, which went into bankruptcy.
G
Untilthe time of his death in October 1953, Saunders was developing plans foranother automatic store system called the Foodelectric. But the store, whichwas to be located two blocks from the first Piggly Wiggly store, never opened.But his name was well-remembered along with the name Piggly Wiggly.
Questions1-5
TheReading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G.
Whichparagraph contains the following information?
Writethe correct letter A-G, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
NB Youmay use any letter more than once.
1. HowClarence Saunders' new idea had been carried out.
2.Introducing the modes and patterns of groceries before his age.
3.Clarence Saunders declared bankruptcy a few years later.
4.Descriptions of Clarence Saunders' new conception.
5 .Thebooming development of his business.
Questions6-10
Answerthe questions below.
WriteONLY ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
6 .WhenClarence Saunders was an adolescent, he took a job as________ a in a grocerystore.
7. Inthe new innovation of grocery store, most of the clerks' work before was doneby ________ .
8. InSaunders' new grocery store, the section where customers finish the payment wascalled ________ .
9.Another area in his store which behind the public area was called the ________, where only internal staff could access.
10. At________ where customers were under surveillance.
Questions11-13
Choosethe correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Writeyour answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.
11. Whydid Clarence Saunders want to propel the innovation of grocery stores at hisage?
A.Because he was an enthusiastic and creative man.
B.Because his boss wanted to reform the grocery industry.
C.Because he wanted to develop its efficiency and make great profit as well.
D.Because he worried about the future competition from the industry.
12 .Whathappened to Clarence Saunders' first store of Piggly Wiggly?
A.Customers complained about its impracticality and inconvenience.
B .Itenjoyed a great business and was updated in the first twelve months.
C. Itexpanded to more than a thousand franchised stores during the first year.
D.Saunders were required to have his new idea patented and open more stores.
13. Whatleft to Clarence Saunders after his death in 1953?
A .Afully automatic store system opened soon near his first store.
B. Thename of his store the Piggly Wiggly was very popular at that time.
C.Hisname was usually connected with his famous shop the Piggly Wiggly in thefollowing several years.
D. Hisname was painted together with the name of his famous store.
Answerkeys
1. D
2. A
3 .F
4 .C
5. E
6. clerk
7.customers
8. lobby
9.stockroom
10.galleries
11-13.CBC
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