Unhappy Shopper

I'm actually quite happy about this purchase.

Emily recently spotted a range of retro and parody t-shirts by Manchester Tom on Instagram and I knew I had to buy this Unhappy Shopper one!

Even though 2020 has been undeniably shite and I've barely been to any shops I wanted to go to, I have managed to find a few Happy Shopper shops with the nice old branding still in place.

One of the stores in Sheffield even had the 1971 logo on its social distancing signage!

Check out the Manchester Tom website for more information.

The Happy Shopper in Sheffield

It was nice to find a Happy Shopper shop with the original branding up and still open. This one is on Page Hall Road in Sheffield.

The two other Happy Shopper shops I've seen this year have both been closed. One of those was also in Sheffield.

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's.

The Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Interestingly the social distancing signs on the door showed the original Happy Shopper branding with the smiling blond face appearing before the word 'Happy' rather than in place of the 'o' as seen in the second incarnation of the logo 

The Happy Shopper brand has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Related blog posts:

- Happy Shopper

- Happy Shopper in Sheffield

- Happy Shopper in Preston

- Shopfronts

Happy Shopper in Sheffield

I found an old Happy Shopper shop in Sheffield.

It was nice to see the old Happy Shopper branding still up on the signs at what was once Pops Mini Market on Sharrow Lane in the Highfield area of Sheffield.

As the Happy Shopper branding was updated in the year 2000 I didn't think it would still be possible to see it 20 years later. I was glad to be wrong.

Last month I found a Happy Shopper in Preston purely by chance while en route to look for an abandoned Toys R Us.

While in Sheffield I actually managed to find a Happy Shopper that was open and had some of the original branding on the signage. Marvellous.

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products. It has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Related blog posts:

- Happy Shopper

- The Happy Shopper in Sheffield

- Happy Shopper in Preston

- Shopfronts

Covid-19 social distancing signage with 1970s branding

One of the best finds during my 'retail archaeology' expeditions this year is the social distancing signage using the original Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's, 80's and 90's at The Happy Shopper convenience store in Sheffield.

A slightly unexpected sight on a sign of the times in 2020

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and buying their own-branded products a lot when I was a kid growing up in Oxfordshire back in the 80's and 90's.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's was changed in the year 2000 and became a lot simpler design. I thing it certainly lost a lot of its character.

The original Happy Shopper branding has the smiling blond haired face appearing before the word 'Happy' rather than in place of the 'o' in the word 'Shopper' as seen in the second, and probably more widespread, incarnation of the logo.

The two other Happy Shopper shops I've seen this year have both been closed. The first was in Preston and the second was also in Sheffield.

Check out my Instagram account for more social distancing signs I've spotted on my urban walks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Happy Shopper

Finding a Happy Shopper store in Preston.

Short of completing my Time Machine and heading back to 1999 I thought it was nigh on impossible to find an old Happy Shopper shop sign. I guess yesterday was my lucky day.

What a sign

I just happened to be wearing the right colour jacket for the photo too!

I'm always a happy shopper when I find old branding and interesting signs. We'd gone to Preston to take a look at the abandoned Toys R Us store there

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid.

The Happy Shopper branding was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products.

Do you remember Happy Shopper? Did you have a favourite Happy Shopper product?

Lost shops

On our travels we've seen a number of old shop signs and retro retail remnants including Tandy in Hitchin; RadioShack in St Annes on the Sea; Toys R Us stores in Ancoats, Manchester, Warrington, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and Preston; Woolworths Big W in Brunstane, Edinburgh; Blockbuster in Fallowfield, Manhester; Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent; BHS in Stockport; Blockbuster Video Express in Colne; Orange Mobile in Oswestry; Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness; Cooltrader in Blackpool and the remains of Blockbuster Video stores in Oldham, Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Hastings, Felixstowe, Telford, Prescot and Chester.