A man who stumbled upon a 1990s supermarket chain receipt couldn't believe how many items you used to be able to get for your money. Chris Eyres, from Prenton, Merseyside, found a receipt from Kwik Save, which had small and medium sized supermarkets on the High Street until it went into administration in 2007, dated 1995 in a box.
Chris said the box belonged to his late mother and also contained photos of streets and clubs from the 1960s, as well as other nostalgic bits and bobs. But it was the Kwik Save receipt, which was printed on October 26, 1995, that caught Chris's attention.
His mother had been in the shop in Stanley Road, Birkenhead, at just before 2pm and the receipt featured 38 items, with his mum paying £24.79 in cash for them. Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Chris said he was shocked at the amount of items his mum was able to buy with a relatively small amount of money compared to these days.
Items on the receipt included Heinz Baked Beans for 23p, Mellow Birds coffee for £1.45, semi-skimmed milk for 26p, 1kg of sugar for 59p and toothpaste for 78p. The priciest item Chris's mum bought on that shopping trip was Ovaltine for £2.25.
Flora set her back 48p, a Pot Noodle 67p and Penguin biscuits were 66p. Oxo cubes also cost her 64p, and a 750ml bottle of bleach was 57p.
Chris said: "My first reaction was how many items were on the list for a relatively small amount of money. I remember my mum use to go every Thursday when I was a kid and I'd be waiting eagerly what she'd brought me back as a treat.
"I'd run to the car boot to see what was in all the bags. Really friendly people worked there and everyone was polite. Need a payday loan these days to buy 30 odd items."
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
The prices reflect the time and what the items cost in the mid-90s. But that doesn't mean we don't feel nostalgic looking at it, with some wishing it was still like that today.
Chris posted an image of the receipt to the Birkenhead Memories Facebook group and many were quick to share their memories. The post reads: "An old north end Kwikky receipt of mums from 1995, 38 items for 24 quid. Wouldn't pay for the parking and a carrier bag these days."
One person said: "That takes me back mate. When we used to put the shopping in a tartan colour trolley with four wheels lol. From Woodchurch road Kwiky." One commented: "This reminds me of my mums list! Ovaltine and Mellow Birds. Haven’t touched either since the 90’s… Proper nostalgia trip!"
Another posted: "I remember those days! However, I also remember wages were much smaller, so it's all relative." And one person commented: "Gosh wish these prices were still around lol."
Chris said: "It shocked me how many people did respond to it, after all it's just a bit of old paper. Seems that it was a popular supermarket with a lot of fond memories for people."
Kwik Save, with its familiar logo of white block italics against a red background, grew to become a common site in Britain after the first store opened in Rhyl in 1959. The supermarket was also famous for its 'No Frills' line of own brand, cheaper generic products, an idea that was later taken up by all the major supermarket chains, which became a significant factor in its downfall, the ECHO previously reported.
The chain continued to expand, and by the mid-1990s, they had more than 800 stores spanning the country. But 2007, Kwik Save said it was to close 79 of its stores with immediate effect.
A month later it announced plans to close a further 20 stores to keep the company from going into administration, but the company went into administration soon after. The 56 remaining Kwik Save were sold to a new company, FreshXpress, which itself went into administration in March 2008.
All those stores have now since closed, but many shoppers still have fond memories of visiting Kwik Save.
