A lost budget store with a "no frills" range is still missed on Merseyside.
The Liverpool ECHO recently reported how an old Kwik Save receipt from 1995 had been discovered by Chris Eyres, from Prenton, in his late mother's belongings. The receipt was printed on October 26, 1995 just before 2pm at a branch on Stanley Road in Birkenhead and showed 38 items for the price of £24.79.
Items on the list include toothpaste for 78p, Heinz Baked Beans for 23p, Flora 48p, Pot Noodle for 67p and penguin Biscuits for 66p. The most expensive item on the list was Ovaltine for £2.25, but you can also see the likes of Oxo Cubes costing 64p and Pearl Drops for 69p.
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Kwik Save stores, with their familiar logo of white block italics against a red background, were a familiar sight on our high streets for nearly 50 years. But by the late noughties, Kwik Save and all its Merseyside branches collapsed.
Now, all that is left of the loved brand is our memories and rare items like receipts and carrier bags that many may have lying around their house. On our Facebook page, hundreds reminisced about the budget store and were left hankering for days gone by.
A number of former employees reminisced about meeting their partners, memorising stock prices and what life was like in the 1990s. Kim Peacock commented: "I used to work for Kwiksave, it was one of my first jobs. I worked in New Brighton and Liscard and the start pay was £2.50 per hour (back in 2002) but I could still afford to go to RJs pretty much every weekend."
Lisa Byng wrote: "I worked in Kwik Save as a Saturday girl when I was at college. Waitrose paid more but I wouldn’t work there because they had a brown uniform whereas Kwik Saves was red and white." Lin Perry commented: "I used to work in the kwiky county road. You had to remember every price on those shelves. Queues right down the aisles. Great job great staff happy memories."
Claire Childs commented: "I used to shop in kwik save in Gorton with my daughters dad so cheap." Teresa McGuinness said: "I worked in Kwik Save, remember taking the price list home to memorise and then having trolley tests to make sure you could put all the items through the till quick enough!."
Donna Otoole posted: "I used to work in kwik save Park Road when you had to remember all the prices good times x." Gaynor Wilkinson said: "I worked for kwiksave for many years from 1988 had to learn all prices and manualy put in till, till scanning came in."
Kat Marnie wrote: "I worked in the one in Hanover St, hated the job, but met my Partner of 41yrs there." Kerry Richardson wrote: "Used to work at Kwik Save, best job I have ever had."
Elaine Light said: "I used to work at Kwik Save (I used to call it Kwik Slave on the sly ), we had to learn the price of everything in the shop before we could go on the tills. I wrote the whole shop prices down in a notebook. I still have it up in the loft. I might have to get it down and have a look. I remember tea towels being 33p but only because to remember it I used to think towels tea 33."
And Kathryn Kerouac commented: "I worked in Kwik Save when I was 20. All the stock was put into trolled at the end of business on Saturday. We had to memorise all the prices and had to recite them on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and if we got any wrong we couldn’t work on the till. Had to clock on and off for a 10 minute tea break. Had a good laugh in them days. Can still remember the prices of things even now."
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A number of former customers also shared their memories of the budget supermarket and were baffled that receipt printed nearly 30 years ago had survived. Iain McCaig said: "I used to like Kwik Save, very basic but very cheap. My local one in Coventry not bad, staff decent as well. B&M I guess is the modern day version, on a larger scale."
Paula Clark said: "No frills I remember well lol." Karen Redfern wrote: "Loved The Kwiky used to leave the baby outside in her pram, I'd get all that she needed milk nappies etc and food for the week for myself for bout £30 ! Imagine that now Happy Happy days back then x."
Kathleen Prother said: "Was a great supermarket." Danielle Woods commented: "I used to get 2 weeks decent shop for like 35 quid maybe even less and that included absolutely everything."
What are your memories of Kwik Save? Let us know in the comments section below.
Tony 'T' Ford wrote: "Used to love going the kiwkee as a kid. cheap and cheerful - and their plastic bags where superior." Hazel Atkin wrote: "They should bring kwiksace back ....it was a great shop."
John Myers wrote: "Kwik Save was the best." Daniel Alexander commented: "Kwik Save was so ahead of its time. It's a shame it's gone now."
Samantha Craven-Bentley commented: "Takes me back to going Kwik Save with my dad on a Thursday evening. Then I'd have tea at his as well. I remember the no frills stuff it was really cheap but good value. I also worked at Kwik Save for a few months too. Happy days."
Samantha Green said: "Oh wow! The date on the receipt is my birthday! I would’ve turned 12 on that day! I miss Kwik Save - it was fab! My cousin and i used to often pop over the road to “kwikkie” after school to buy ourselves a pot noodle and a chocolate mousse! Hahaha! I had not long immigrated from South Africa and it was all very different and exiting to me!My Mom used to love these frozen croissants from there. That had a cheese and ham filling, you had to bake them til the filling was all melty and delicious!."
Beth Rhiannon said: "I loved Kwik-save.. I live in Prestatyn, which is where the Kwik-Save flag ship store and head quarters were. It was a great shop and they were great times. I’m so tempted to go and buy this exact shopping to compare todays prices."
Alex Litwinski commented: "Receipts these days, if you get one, is printed with ink that slowly disappears! No way would it last that long!."Stephen Warner said: "I cant believe it didn't fade to be completely unreadable 5 hours after it was printed, like the receipts I have to present today for expenses !!!."
And Carole Harwood Dunn wrote: "Our local Kwiksave used to have a separate butchers counter where you could order whatever meat you wanted and they would prepare it for you .....also had a separate greengrocers section where you could pick all your own veg . Paid there too as they were separate businesses from the main supermarket .....oh and forgot , there was a Sayers outlet in there too .......got all that , then went round the main supermarket for everything else ....was good !."
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