The famous French manufacturer of shopping trolleys Caddie is in danger and is in danger of disappearing. The company was placed on January 4 in receivership, with a month and a half to find a buyer and save its 140 jobs in Alsace, where it is produced. The caddy brand has existed since 1957 but the cart has existed since long before that and is manufactured all over the world. What is the story of our supermarket shopping carts? What will the cart of tomorrow look like?
The first cart arrived in a Belgian supermarket in December 57. An event. Customers have discovered both self-service and the shopping cart. A revolution to fill the refrigerator, which then appeared in homes.
But as Emmanuel Collet, archivist at Delhaize, underlines, at the time, handling the first trolleys was not easy. “At first it wasn’t very easy, because people weren’t sure what to do with it. The reactions weren’t very easy: the men were a little reluctant because they considered that it was a little effeminate pushing a supermarket cart, and on the contrary, the ladies felt that it was still keeping them in a situation of stay-at-home mom with one more pram to push…“, he explains.
Caddies have become more and more imposing
Caddies have been made in Alsace for 60 years. But its ancestor appeared in the 1930s… A basket holder, double level, on wheels. Several American grocers are arguing over their paternity. The goal is the same: the buyer can keep their hands free. Exit the basket of the housewife. The caddy will upset habits.
“The shopping carts have become more and more imposing in terms of volume. The number of products has also increased. And the cart has become basically an emblem of the consumer society. When artists or activists denounce the consumer society, l icon that we often use is the supermarket trolley“, says Emmanuel Collet.
The shopping trolley has evolved: built-in, then equipped with a place for the child in the 1960s.
The connected shopping cart is now a reality. What will happen tomorrow?
“We imagined in the 1950s, when we predicted the year 2000 in a way, we imagined sophisticated trolleys, which would circulate on their own on an air cushion. A priori it is quite possible. Even with drones, to do your shopping without necessarily having to be physically present in the store “, says Emmanuel Collet. And to note: “For now, we are sticking to this because it is the practical side that dominates”.
No fashion, little fancy. The caddy crosses time and nearly 5 generations.
