It wasn’t long before young Lipton got what he called “that restless feelin’” and suddenly decided to board a schooner for the short ride up to Charleston. The details of the next two years are vague, but it is known that he returned to New York. This time he was lucky and was hired as an assistant in a prosperous New York grocery store. He quickly learned the grocery trade and the secrets of his future success, while picking up American techniques of salesmanship and advertising.
But in spring 1869, Lipton again had “that restless feelin’” and decided to return home to Scotland, where he took over his parents’ grocery shop and quickly turned their fortunes around. After only two years of working in the shop, Lipton opened his first grocery on Stobcross Street in Glasgow on his 21st birthday. Goods were stacked in New York City fashion, not for the convenience of the proprietors but with the purpose of catching the customers’ attention. Lipton used another business technique learned from his mother. She, rather than dealing with middlemen at the markets, dealt directly with the farmers of her homeland. He followed her example as he bought bacon, eggs, butter, and other produce directly from local farmers.
His first grocery did so well that in 1876, he moved to larger premises on High Street. He later added three more, and by 1882, he had shops in the cities of Dundee, Paisley, Edinburgh, and Leeds.
The opening of each new Lipton location was cause for newspaper advertisements, posters, and parades. Thomas Lipton himself appeared at each opening to offer prizes to the first customers. In 1881, he announced he would import the world’s largest cheese from New York. Apparently, 800 cows were milked for six days, and the labor of 200 dairymaids was needed to make this enormous product. The streets of Glasgow were lined with spectators cheering the giant cheese on its way to Lipton’s new High Street store. At Christmas, the shopkeeper announced that in the tradition of Christmas pudding, his cheese would contain silver coins to be found by its buyers. It was cut and completely sold out in just two hours. These giant cheeses became part of Lipton’s annual Christmas displays in all his stores.
