"Well, we had this store, called Consumers' Distributing. It wasn't like a regular retail store. There really wasn't anything else like it [1]. It was basically like doing online shopping today, but you had to go to the store to do it, and you had to do it from a printed copy of the website."
[1] Except perhaps the Ontario liquor board's beer stores.
#ConsumersDistributing #Canada #retail #store #80s #1980s #catalog #catalogue #CatalogShopping #CatalogueShopping
I worked at Consumers Distributing in the late 80s. I can attest to the insanity. And because they were individual dolls we had to bring out a million different ones until they found the one they wanted. And usually they couldn’t find one they wanted. I think they were SKUd by hair colour so at least we could narrow it down.
https://press.coop/@CBCNews/111557282849166555
#cabbagepatch #cabbagepatchkids #consumersdistributing #blackfriday
Popularity of Cabbage Patch Kids was 'next level insanity,' says filmmaker When the Cabbage Patch Kids were released in 1983, the media attention and scarcity of the dolls inspired brawls between shoppers that Christmas season. The executive producer of a new documentary about the dolls says the craze may have contributed to the madness we see around things like Black Friday... #press https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/cabbage-patch-kids-documentary-1.7053174?cmp=rss&utm_source=press.coop
C.
Barb Elliott 
Shantell Powell