Entrepreneurs Who Changed History

g MANUFACTURING AND MASS PRODUCTION g Contents

CLARENCE SAUNDERS

1881–1953

Clarence Saunders revolutionized the way people shopped. He developed “self-service” grocery shopping in his Piggly Wiggly stores at a time when store assistants usually collected products for their customers. By introducing checkouts, clearly priced goods, and itemized receipts, he set the foundations for the supermarkets of today.

Born in 1881, Clarence Saunders grew up in a poor family in Virginia. They later moved to Tennessee, and, at the age of 14, Saunders worked part time in a grocery store. Having attended school for just two years, he educated himself by ...