The Washington herald., 1920-11-21
.WIGGLY ESSAY
PRIZE WINNER
First Honor at Pennsylvania
University for Article on
Stores System.

The students of the Wharton
School of Business and Finance of
the University of Pennsylvania were
recently required to submit essays
on merchandising. over seven hun
dred were submitted and the essay
winning the first prize was written
i by William w. Goodman, of Men,
phis. Tenn. Mr.. Goodman chose
Piggly Wfggly as his subject. Be-
low will be found a few extracts
from his essay:
"They were organized to be estab-
| lished as a national organization of
standardized type. and with stand
ardized methods that such stores
might run their service throughout
the world by providing economical
means for the retail distribution of
| food products of a wide variety.
There has not at any time been a
similar attempt to standardize a
store to deal in food products, and
there is not in the full record Of
merchandising any success that will
approach the success that has been
achieved in the establishment and
the development of the Piggly Wig
gly system of stores.
Perhaps no chain of stores that
| has been organized in recent years
has been the object of so much
curiosity and speculation as has this
system. Piggly Wiggly Is really
more than a store. 1t is a whole
system of selling groceries, based on
the cafeteria idea. The plan intro
duces so many innovations and de-
parts so widely from traditional re-
tail methods that. ii is well worth
| th nf oil uyh 70
| interested in distribution.
They show that there is order in
arrangement Of the display; that
there is convenience afforded
through the aisle system; that each
store has in its display of mer-
chandise a most comprehensive as
sortment of food products of ma
tionally known reputation that is
four to six times greater than is
ordinarily found in the so-called
chain store. This selection allows
the customer to chose the variety.
brand and quantity desired. The
manufacturer obtains absolutely fair
displays of his particular brand in
| competition with other brands of
similar character of merchandise. A
swinging price tag at the time of
selection indicates the price in plain
figures as to just what will be col
the customer has finished making
lected at the checking counter when
selections and is ready to depart
from the store.
Like everything else about these
unusual stores, the advertising is
decidedly different. Mr.. Saunders
believes strongly in advertising his
ideas and the enterprises with which
he is connected. He has a striking
ly individual style. Some of the
4 COPY might be called bizarre. Usu-
ally generous space is employed
which is packed with reading mat
ter. These advertisements follow
the general policy and are copy
righted. As most of these advertise
ments have special public interest
the reading public soon gets into the
habit of reading them as it would
any news article.
THE manufacturer own brands
commonly known as trademarked OF
advertised brands-are to be given
preference in the assortment OF
Piggly wiggly stocks so long as
: is manifest on the part of such
manufacturers in their attitude to-
wards Piggly Wiggly as a system Of
merchandising.
|, I'm conclusion, about the only
thing that can say is to repeat thk
, statement that I made early in thi:
thesis-no other comment is neces.
sary. In the full record of all mer.
chandising history there is no sue
, cess that approaches that achieve,
ment in the establishment and de-
velopment of the Piggly wggly sys
tenn of stores Their growth ha.
| only been limited to the program o.
conservative expansion adopted b!
the management-One new store /;
day"
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