To suggest it’s a uniquely British thing to pluralise company names?

[ApertureGLaDOS]

I actually may be unreasonable as I have no idea about what the rest of the world do, BUT…

… I was watching an episode of Food Theory on YouTube and he mentioned repeatedly, ‘Cadbury’. I found it so weird and jarring because it is known as ‘Cadbury’s’ to me. I suppose on reflection it makes sense because I think we are sold ‘Cadbury’s chocolate’ rather than just a product from Cadbury, but it sticks and I refer to it in that sense all the time (I don’t say Nestle’s or Mars’ for example).

And it’s not just that - I go to Tesco’s, not Tesco. And whilst I don’t say it myself I’ve heard friends shopping at ‘Lidl’s’ and even Asda’s.

So is it a British thing or is pluralising companies in common usage a thing done world over?

My parents say "Aldi's" so they seem to be an extreme example of this tendency!

Yes, I think this is a British quirk. I grew up elsewhere, English as first language, and this is something I noticed on arriving in the UK.

Would you say "Asda's, Waitrose's, Walmart's, Sports Direct's, Decathlon's, Superdrug's" if you went to any of those stores?

If there's no consistency in your approach then saying Tesco's is a cultural quirk, and not you following some logical rule.

I say Asda, Tesco, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer etc. None of them have an "s" on the end. I'm not British though.

You lot don’t get out much do you? No, this is not just a “British” thing.

If the shop was called "Arthur", yes. Arthur in this context is the name of the shop, not a person. Where the name came from is irrelevant.

I go to Sainsbury, not Sainsbury's. Sainsbury may be the name of a person, but it's also the name of a shop, and it's the shop I'm going to. The name of the company that owns the shop, or the person who founded the company, aren't relevant.

I think Wagamama is an interesting example. I also add the ‘s on the end but it’s not a possessive like being described with some of the supermarket names. So no idea what the s on the end is supposed to mean.

But the shop in this instance is called ‘Sainsbury’s’ isn’t it?

Bollocks, I'm wrong about Sainsbury's. I don't ever actually go there, which is why, I think.

Bollocks was to myself, not you. Crossed posts, not trying to be rude.

Asda's and Waitrose's drive me mental.

I replied earlier saying that Australians do it also - so it isn't a British quirk.

So why did you say you went there?!

I think it's rather nice, informal and shows an affection for old high street businesses. (And newer ones like Wagamamas : maybe because it sounds like someone's mum runs it? Asda sounds as family run as NATO so I've never fallen into calling it Asdas)
But then I miss Woolies so am presumably amongst that riff-raff cohort who know no better!😂

I think it's appropriate that Cadbury's are now the stiff, corporate "Cadbury."

Spoken (and informal online) language is going to operate on an instinctual level and no one is teaching kids the standard forms in school, why would they. Let the company communications teams worry about their house styles and leave the rest of us be.

Thinking about this more deeply I do go to The Spar (and The Big Asda.)

Definitely Asdal here too. You can get there in your Ford Fiestal.😆

We got to Sainsbos or Tescaloids and for anyone that remembers Gateway (or Gateways), when we go to Waitrose, we call it Gaterose to indicate a generic shopping trip.

Brits are indeed weird.

I've never heard of putting an -l on the end!

I have heard Mataland though.
And Nessles for Nestle is a blast from the past!

The L on the end is very Bristol and environs. Bristol was originally called Bristo.

It's common in the USA, but it is also common that the legal and/or trading name of the company - if it's a family name or a person's first name - ends in an s or 's. If you visit Macy's or Shaw's or Bloomingdale's, you'll see the apostrophe on the sign.

Recently - by which I mean this century - some companies have changed their names to include 's - and some which were formerly 's have deleted the apostrophe, partly because it causes issues with physical signs but also because of the desire for consistency in marketing and PR, and the inability to handle an apostrophe on the internet. Albertsons, Barneys, and Vons are all recent examples of this.

That said, I don't think it's usual to add an s if the name is not a family name - for example, we do not have Sephora's or Target's or Walmart's. But we do have Piggly Wiggly's - perhaps because it sounds like that could be a personal/family name?

I found this article interesting: archive.ph/JJH90 - please excuse the archival source, it's no longer available on the original site.

Some older Scottish people (ie those now in their 70s or older) have a weird name for the Co-op- it’s often called “The Coperative” pronounced “coh-per-AY-tive”. A mis- reading/mispronunciation that became widespread.

In my part of Scotland it is known the Co-pay.

@Doyoumind
Yes I agree with this.

So I say I'm going to Clarks' (because I assume it was founded by Mr Clark)

but I'm going to The Spar or The Co-op - or to Tesco or Waitrose - because none are based on surnames (but the Spar / the Co-op as it is The Society for the Protection of the Average Retailer / The Co-operative

But I'd be going to Sainsbury's - because there was a Mr Sainsbury

I have never actually thought about it before but now I do think about it, yes you're right @ApertureGLaDOS - it's really interesting!

@JurasicPerks

... and then they call maths "math" which really jars me too!

@Moomeh

Lol 😂

I love a good Competition of the Pedants

Or should that be "for the Pedants". 😳

What about big Tesco and little Tesco?

Do the Dutch, for example say little AH and big AH?