History
In 1968, Leith Provident's 1911 department store on Great Junction Street was still operating a then unusual overhead wire system that transported a customer's payment and dividend number from the sales assistant to the cashier, returning change and receipt.
In 1995, Scotmid acquired the Scottish health and beauty retail chain Semi-Chem (since rebranded Semichem), followed in 1999 by the similar Northern Ireland business, Options. Also in 1999, Scotmid merged with Prestonpans Co-operative Society.
In 2000, Scotmid closed all 20 of its non-food department stores, which had made losses for five successive years.
In 2003, Scotmid acquired Wakefield-based national distribution business, M & S Toiletries, which it sold in 2008 to Sert UK.
In the early 21st century, Scotmid acquired several competing convenience stores in Scotland: Alldays, 64 SPAR stores and Morning, Noon & Night.
Scotmid added Dundas Fyfe funeral directors to its funeral operation. The head office moved from Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, where it had been since 1859, to a new purpose-built office near Newbridge.
The Fragrance House was founded by Scotmid in 2009. It specializes in perfume and by 2011 had five stores in Scotland with plans to expand to England and Northern Ireland.
Read more about this topic: Scotmid
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“I cannot be much pleased without an appearance of truth; at least of possibility—I wish the history to be natural though the sentiments are refined; and the characters to be probable, though their behaviour is excelling.”
—Frances Burney (1752–1840)
“It is my conviction that women are the natural orators of the race.”
—Eliza Archard Connor, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 9, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)