THIS week’s Nostalgia takes a look back at the Irwin’s stores that were once scattered around North Wales and Liverpool.
Irwin’s was a popular regional grocery chain founded in the 1880s by John Irwin, who originally opened branches in Liverpool and by 1902 had branches in 21 districts in the city’s vicinity.
The company soon expanded to North Wales, where they opened up a number of stores, in locations like Connah’s Quay, Mold, Prestatyn and Rhos-on-Sea.
There were soon hundreds of Irwin’s stores, from the company’s Liverpool heartland, along the North Wales coast.
A famous red livery was also adopted for the shops, which were often referred to in the firm’s advertising as ‘The Ruby Red Stores’, while mosaics adorned outer walls of some branches.
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In 1960, Jack Cohen bought 212 shops from Irwin’s, which was Tesco’s launchpad for expansion throughout the North-West of England, and the end of Irwin’s chain.
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