International Stores

[Carol Anne]

Does anyone remember this UK grocery chain from the 1970s?

[Tatty Rollox]

....... and here is a David Greig, and here is the logo of Maypole (Maypole was started by Otto Munsted in 1894 by building a huge (68 acre) margerine factory at Southall, Middlesex, and then going on to become a multiple store grocery business) .......

[shaneystar2]

Oh that's great Tatty..Sittingbourne High Street !
I used to live near Sittingbourne as a girl and have an old school friend who still lives there ! I think that picture was a wee while before our time though.!!

[Tatty Rollox]

Hello, shaney. Glad it is of interest. I'm afraid that I don't know Sittingbourne at all - I've only driven through it a couple of times over the years. The car on the left looks like an Austin 10 and the one on the right a Ford 8, and should this be right it would place the date of the picture in 1945 -48 'ish, perhaps 2 or 3 years earlier.

[Hans_Olo]

I remember having an international store in the town I lived near and later on in when i was a child in the 70's and 80's. That was ok until asda built a store!

[Historian Ex]

I am currently working on an Arts and Humanities Research Council project investigating consumer reactions to the self-service stores, developed by the Co-op, International, Lipton, Tesco etc. If you would like to answer a questionnaire on your past shopping experiences, please go to the University of Exeter website:

http://www.sobe.ex.ac.uk/shopping/

Best Wishes

[BIG DAVID]

Hi Carol
I used to work for them in the 1960,s in Hitchin Hertfordshire and I collect anything to do with the old International

[kingads]

Both my parents worked for the firm and I lived in the firms houses. I am presently building up a web site called www.internationalstores.co.uk and would be interested in information or photos
Ray King

[Lieveling]

Kingads thats coming along as a fine site; would you have a photo of the last days of a trading International showing the name in the familiar uneven font. There was one in Stokenchurch until about 1980.

We recall the day barcoding was launched in the Folkestone Store and price labels were discontinued. Originally we think it had been built as a Pricerite before becoming Inernational. It then became Mainstop with that distinctive but simple hash type logo (#). Then hey presto, it transformed into Presto before taking the uninspiring American Safeway livery. Now it's in its second Morrisons colours. We can't find a site showing such pictures of trading stores but found an excellent nostalgic site for defunct petrol brands.

We also found only one online photo of a trading Home and Colonial but wish we had taken for future fascination, pictures of our local Gateway trading as Solo, (now Asda) and Key and MacMarket. The big four should all have an interesting reversed family tree showing all the takeovers. Who bought Shoppers Paradise, once the cheapest or best value outlet in a Which? report.

Thanks for the above link to Fooddeserts, also fascinating.

[copterman1]

I worked at macmarket from 1974 to 1977 it was taken over by the international stores brand.In 1980. I say brand as it was probably part of the Retail Giant Unilever which owned Birds Eye and other companys.

[16miller]

I remember them well, I joined them as an apprentice in 1952 and progessed through to manager at several branches.

I can expand on the company etc if you wish.


Derek Tuckey

[nigelpage]

I'm putting together a web site for a member of my family dedicated to the history and people of International Tea Co Stores.

If anyone has any pictures or information that we could put on the site please send them to us via the web site at http://www.internationalstores.org

We would especially be interested in any photos or information about the stores in Norfolk and Norwich.

[MikeDuck]

I worked in the IT dept in 1973-74 at their head office in MitreSquare, London EC3. Part of the area was then still the original Victorian structure.
They acquired the freezer chain Iceright which ahd a head office in Swanley.
In 1975 International closed down the Mitre Square office and relocated to Swanley.

[5kwidkid]

My Dad worked at The Maypole in Widnes in early 1930's. I remember them cutting the butter of a huge block & patting it into shape with the wooden paddles. We migrated to Australia in 1956 & I think the Maypole was still there then.

[5kwidkid]

My Dad worked at The Maypole in Widnes in the early 1930's. I remember he delivered groceries on a bike like Gggranville. I remember they used to carve off pieces of butter from a huge chunk, then pat it into shape with wooden paddles.

[twingdings]

Yes

[CanalRiderUK]

Yes, I worked for them up until the Dee Corporation bought International Stores from BAT Industries