1. When did stores without staff service begin?
In the past, grocery shopping usually meant telling a clerk what you wanted and waiting for them to fetch it from the shelves [2]. This changed in September 1916 with the opening of "Piggly Wiggly" in Memphis, Tennessee. The founder was Clarence Saunders [1].
At this store, customers entered through a revolving door and walked down four aisles to pick from about 605 packaged items themselves. Payment happened at the exit [2]. A key feature was that every item had a price tag. It is said to be the first self-service grocery chain, with Saunders patenting the method in 1917 and ending credit and delivery services [1].
This sounds like the first supermarket. However, it is common to name a different person as the founder of the modern American supermarket [5]. This is because self-service is just one condition among several. What kind of store did that other person open?
2. Why is King Kullen's garage store called the first supermarket?
On August 4, 1930, Michael J. Cullen rented an empty garage in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, and opened "King Kullen" [3]. It started in a place that did not look like a typical shop.
Cullen had sent a letter to Kroger executives the previous year, in 1929, proposing a store with low prices and high-volume sales. He received no reply, so he opened his own store [4]. His slogan was "The World's Greatest Storehouse of Bargains." By 1936, he had expanded to 17 stores [4]. The Japanese Wikipedia notes that this store promoted the idea of "stacking high and selling low" [5].
According to an industry magazine report, the Smithsonian Museum is said to have identified this store as the first to combine five conditions: self-service, departmental layout, discount prices, chain expansion, and volume sales [4]. Note that this information comes via the trade journal, not directly from the Smithsonian's own pages.
Interestingly, all five elements existed before Cullen. His innovation was combining them [4]. So, if you count stores where customers choose for themselves, the date is 1916. If you count the complete model with all five conditions, it is 1930. This creates a 14-year gap.
Still, even the 1930 store cannot be called the "only" first one, because other stores also claim this title.
3. Are there other American stores that claim to be the first supermarket?
The industry article states that precedents existed before King Kullen. It cites examples like Henry Krauel and others who showed cash-and-carry methods [4]. Other pioneers from around the same time include Ralphs, Weingarten's, and Henke & Pillot [4].
There is debate about who was "first," and many companies call themselves the number one store [4]. Therefore, it is better to avoid saying King Kullen was definitely the "world's first." Saying it is a "store often cited as having the complete five-condition model" aligns better with the sources.
Seen this way, being "first" is less about one single store and more like a title with specific conditions. So, what happened in Japan?
4. Which three candidates are there for Japan's first supermarket?
Here we look at three main candidates for the Japanese "first." The name changes depending on what you count as the beginning.
The first candidate is "Keihan Supermarket," opened in Osaka in 1952 by the distribution division of Keihan Electric Railway. According to Japanese Wikipedia, it was the first store in Japan to use this name, but it used counter service, not self-service [5].
The second is "Kinokuniya," introduced as Japan's first self-service supermarket where customers pick goods themselves and pay at a register [6].
The third is "Maruwa Food Center," opened in Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture, in March 1956. It was a 396 square meter store (about 4,260 square feet) that aimed for low costs and high sales efficiency through self-service. It sold fresh foods at low prices in large quantities [7].
Name, self-service, and low-price volume sales: these three candidates each claim to be the "first" of something different. So, which one should be Japan's number one store?
5. Is Kinokuniya or Maruwa Food Center Japan's first supermarket?
The common view is that Kinokuniya was the first in Japan. However, the theory favoring Maruwa Food Center is also strong [7].
The argument for Maruwa points out that Kinokuniya initially offered delivery services. It also reportedly had a 6-to-4 ratio of cash sales to credit sales [7]. Some argue that stores with delivery and credit differ from the supermarket model of selling cheaply in large volumes. In contrast, Maruwa sold groceries, including fresh items, at low prices in high volume using self-service.
Maruwa's president, Hideo Yoshida, became central to a movement creating supermarkets called "Housewife Stores" across the country. By the end of 1958, this had spread to 27 stores nationwide [5]. Even if there is no single first store, it seems clear that someone drove its expansion.
Comparing the timelines: in America, self-service started in 1916, and the complete model appeared in 1930. In Japan, self-service (Kinokuniya) was 1953, and low-price volume sales (Maruwa) were 1956. The gaps are different—14 years versus 3 years—but both countries separate "choosing for yourself" from "selling cheaply in bulk" as distinct milestones.
6. Which store would you call the first supermarket?
Try this experiment. Next time you visit a supermarket, look at the entrance, the shelf layout, and the price tags. Count how many features you see: "I can choose myself," "goods are separated by department," or "items have prices." Do this without blocking the aisles or disturbing staff.
Then, think about which conditions matter most to you. If you prioritize self-service, or if you prioritize low-price volume sales, the answer for the "first" store changes in America among the candidates discussed here. In Japan too, views on the candidates differ. A store's history or sales volume is not obvious just by looking at it.
To explore original sources further, articles about Hideo Yoshida published in Diamond Chain Store magazine, or introductions from local governments, are available in Japanese.