Why the Milk Is Almost Always at the Back of the Supermarket

Why is the milk always at the back of the supermarket? We trace how the supermarket was invented, from Piggly Wiggly's 1916 turnstile to King Kullen's garage and Australia's Coles–Woolworths duopoly. Then we follow a $3.40 bottle of Coles milk back to the farmer, and show who keeps what. Education only, not financial advice. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 The question 0:28 What did shopping look like before you could touch anything? 2:42 Who decided you should fetch your own groceries? 5:29 How do you lose a company you invented? 7:12 What turned a self-service shop into a supermarket? 11:11 How did Australia end up with two supermarket giants? 13:48 Is the milk at the back to trap you? 16:36 How much of your money does the supermarket actually keep? 18:46 What Could Break It 21:29 The Receipt 23:22 What's next 📚 Sources Wikipedia: Piggly Wiggly — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggly_... Piggly Wiggly History — https://www.pigglywiggly.com/history/ Smithsonian: One-Way Supermarket Aisles — https://invention.si.edu/invention-st... Click Americana: Inside a Piggly Wiggly, 1918 — https://clickamericana.com/topics/foo... Wikipedia: Clarence Saunders — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarenc... Slate: The Piggly Wiggly short squeeze — https://slate.com/business/2021/02/pi... American Heritage: The Rise of the Supermarket — https://www.americanheritage.com/rise... Bowery Boys: America's first supermarket opens in Queens — https://www.boweryboyshistory.com/202... Wikipedia: King Kullen — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Ku... Wikipedia: Michael J. Cullen — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael... Supermarket News: Michael J. Cullen — https://www.supermarketnews.com/finan... Long Island Wave: King Kullen sale — https://longislandwave.com/news/king-... Encyclopedia.com: Food Stores — https://www.encyclopedia.com/economic... GS1: Marsh and the first barcode scan — https://www.gs1.org/articles/marsh-ho... Smithsonian Magazine: History of the Bar Code — https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innova... eMelbourne: Coles — https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/E... Wikipedia: Woolworths Supermarkets — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolwor... Australian Food Timeline: Woolworths' first food store — https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au... Australian Food Timeline: First Coles supermarket — https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au... ACCC Supermarkets Inquiry final report — https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/... ACCC media release — https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release... ABC News (2025) — https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-2... The Conversation — https://theconversation.com/accc-find... Woolworths Group F26 results (ASX) — https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxp... Woolworths Group Annual Report 2025 — https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/co... 🖼 Picture credits Archive photographs: Unknown / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Rob Ketcherside / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Clarence Saunders / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Poland, Clifford H., photographer / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons George Grantham Bain Collection / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Irving Underhill / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Paintings: AI-generated in the Chronicle & Coin house style. Narration: AI voice. ℹ️ Chronicle & Coin makes business documentaries for education and entertainment. Nothing in this video is financial advice. We're not affiliated with any company shown unless stated. #business #documentary #history