We felt very nostalgic during the coronavirus pandemic and one of the old brands from our childhood we thought about was 'Happy Shopper' - the name alone conjures up images of the 1980's.
Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper in Ipswich and I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was growing up in Oxfordshire back in the 1980's and 1990's.
We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.
A Happy Shopper shop in Preston
Visiting a fully branded Happy Shopper shop is like stepping back in time
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 shops have since been rebranded as Premier shops.
You could still see the 'newer' Happy Shopper branding on Pleasant News in Wisbech in 2021
The shelves inside the store were still the classic orange and yellow design
Since spotting the old shop in Preston we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more.
The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield in 2020
Here's a list of posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:
On our way back home from a trip south we visited the abandoned Toys R Us in Derby as well as the still open Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston.
One of the retro brands I remember clearly from growing up in the 80s and 90s was Happy Shopper. The colourful sign with the happy chappy face is a lovely throwback. Happy Shopper received a rebrand in 2000, but if you are lucky you can still find the original branding and signage on some shops.
We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.
Since then we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more.
Take a look at my posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:
A ghost sign at the old Happy Shopper shop in Ormesby St Margaret, Norfolk.
We were surprised and amazed to see an old Happy Shopper sign while en route to Hemsby during an East Anglian Road-Trip.
We had taken a couple of detours because of traffic and ended up on a different road towards the seaside that took us through the village of Ormesby St Margaret. We're always looking for points of interest and new things to spot when on our travels and as we drove past the village shop we both said to each other jokingly "I wonder if that used to be a Happy Shopper?"
Imagine our shock when we saw a really old, classic Happy Shopper sign in one of the shop windows!
Other Happy Shopper shops
We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.
Since then we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more.
Take a look at my posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:
A look at the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.
We visited the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea in April. It was nice to see some of the signage was still in place, even though there was a lot of scaffolding up around it.
I've since heard that all of the Blockbuster signage has now been removed.
It's always fun to see ghost signs, remnants of old & dead brands and interesting signage while out and about on our travels. Since I found the remains of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in October 2019 I've been intrigued to see the brand still has a lingering presence on the high street. The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013!
Our travels have taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:
We're always interested in spotting remains of retailers of yesteryear and saw this pair of Toys R Us shopping trolleys at the Renewal North West charity shop in Stockport.
I worked in the Gipsy Lane Toys R Us store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000.
Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. It's interesting to see that there are still remnants of the original brand in the UK.
Toys R Us returned to the UK in 2023, as the brand can now be found in some branches of WH Smith. We haven't been near to any of the new version stores yet. It'll be interesting to see what they're like.
Former Toys R Us store locations we've visited on our travels to date:
The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on this day in 2013.
Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.
In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.
It's amazing that there are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks ten years later.
The sign about the closure was still visible on the window there before it was boarded up earlier this year.
At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.
Blockbuster certainly wasn't the first video rental shop brand, but it was at one time the market leader.
Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited on our travels
Our interest in lost brands and retail history has taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:
A look at the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.
We recently visited the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea. It was nice to see some of the signage was still in place, even though there was a lot of scaffolding up around it.
It's always fun to see ghost signs, remnants of old & dead brands and interesting signage while out and about on our travels. Since I found the remains of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in October 2019 I've been intrigued to see the brand still has a lingering presence on the high street. The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013!
Our travels have taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:
Shortly after arriving home we found out the town was home to another Happy Shopper shop! We made sure to visit that one - S & A Singh on Sydney Street - at the next opportunity.
It was nice to see the Happy Shopper branding on the shopfront and there was a lot of it on the shelving inside.
We had a chat to the shopkeeper who had run the Happy Shopper for over 30 years and let him know we appreciated the nostalgia his shop created.
Happy Shopper shops
We've felt very nostalgic during the pandemic and one of the old brands from our childhood we thought about was 'Happy Shopper' - the name alone conjures up images of the 1980's.
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.
We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.
Since then we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more.
Take a look at my posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:
The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on this day in 2013.
Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.
In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.
It's amazing that there are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks nine years later.
The sign about the closure is still on the window there.
At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.
Blockbuster certainly wasn't the first video rental shop brand, but it was at one time the market leader.
Our travels have taken us to a number of former Blockbuster stores:
A look at the former Little Chef restaurant at Haughley Park Services in Stowmarket, Suffolk.
We drove past the old Little Chef on what was once the A14 while on a trip to Suffolk last week.
We used to pass by the roadside restaurant a fair bit on our visits to Ipswich back in the noughties, that was until the A14 at Haughley Park Services was bypassed in 2008.
This Little Chef restaurant soldiered on until it was closed in September 2012.
It's an interesting piece of roadside history.
We felt very nostalgic during the pandemic and spent time seeing what old brands from our childhood we could still find while out and about on our rather limited travels. We've been to quite a lot of Blockbuster Video stores, Happy Shopper shops, Toys R Us locations, Grainger Games shops, and Woolworths locations over the last couple of years!
.jpg "The Wayfairer Discount Store Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston, Derbyshire")
.jpg "The Wayfairer Discount Store Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston, Derbyshire")
.jpg "The Wayfairer Discount Store Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston, Derbyshire")
.jpg "The Wayfairer Discount Store Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston, Derbyshire")
.jpg "The Wayfairer Discount Store Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston, Derbyshire")
.jpg "The Wayfairer Discount Store Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston, Derbyshire")
%20(2).jpg "Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (April 2023)")
%20(4).jpg "Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (April 2023)")
%20(1).jpg "Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (April 2023)")
%20(3).jpg "Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (April 2023)")
%20(5).jpg "Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (April 2023)")
%20(6).jpg "Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (April 2023)")
.jpg "Toys R Us shopping trolley in Stockport")
.jpg "Toys R Us shopping trolley in Stockport")
.jpg "S & A Singh Happy Shopper Supermarket on Sydney Street in Burton-on-Trent (April 2023)")
.jpg "S & A Singh Happy Shopper Supermarket on Sydney Street in Burton-on-Trent (April 2023)")
.jpg "S & A Singh Happy Shopper Supermarket on Sydney Street in Burton-on-Trent (April 2023)")
.jpg "S & A Singh Happy Shopper Supermarket on Sydney Street in Burton-on-Trent (April 2023)")
.jpg "S & A Singh Happy Shopper Supermarket on Sydney Street in Burton-on-Trent (April 2023)")
.jpg "S & A Singh Happy Shopper Supermarket on Sydney Street in Burton-on-Trent (April 2023)")
.jpg "The former Little Chef restaurant at Haughley Park Services in Stowmarket, Suffolk")
.jpg "The former Little Chef restaurant at Haughley Park Services in Stowmarket, Suffolk")
.jpg "The former Little Chef restaurant at Haughley Park Services in Stowmarket, Suffolk")
.jpg "The former Little Chef restaurant at Haughley Park Services in Stowmarket, Suffolk")
.jpg "The former Little Chef restaurant at Haughley Park Services in Stowmarket, Suffolk")