Surprising meaning behind cult corner shop chain Londis

Londis, one of the UK’s favourite convenience stores, may have been the nation’s go-to since 1959, but some shoppers are only just learning where its name actually came from.

The chain, described as ‘one of the fastest growing symbol groups’ in Britain, was initially set up by Douglas Griffin and ‘a group of progressive independent retail grocers who had the aim of establishing a fully operational, delivered wholesale company owned jointly by the retailers it served’, according to its website.

Previously backed by the UK’s largest wholesaler, Booker Group, which purchased it from Musgrave Group with Budgens for £40 million back in 2015 (via Sky News), it was inadvertently acquired by Tesco PLC in 2018 when it purchased Booker Group for £4 billion.

Fast forward to 2026, and around half of the estate now operates as forecourts - a convenience store located at a petrol or filling station.

Convenience chain Londis has been serving UK customers for almost 70 years (Petra Figueroa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

And whether you’ve been loyal to Londis for the last six decades, having visited the first store in Richmond, or just recently wandered into one of the brand’s 2,400 stores to pick up on-the-fly essentials, then you may have wondered what the name actually means.

But first off, Redditors have been debating how you pronounce the brand’s name, asking if it’s ‘Londiss’ or ‘Londies’.

What ‘Londis’ really means

“I ask because I’ve heard someone call it ‘Londies’ and it’s blown my mind. We’ve always said ‘Londiss’,’ one social media user typed.

Someone replied: “I refuse to believe anyone calls it ‘Londies’.”

“Definitely Londiss. Used to help out in my aunt & uncles corner shop back in the day. Before Londis, it was a Wavy Line,” a third claimed.

Another added: “I actually used to think it was French and that the last s was silent. Yes, I'm painfully middle-class.”

A fourth used the Reddit thread to explain exactly why the shop was pronounced ‘Londis’ rather than ‘Londies’.

Londis is a contraction (John Keeble/Getty Images)

“It stands for London Independent Stores,” they typed. “It started as a buying group cooperative for Independent shopkeepers in London.”

And they’re right - Londis is a contraction of London District Stores.

In case you’re scratching your head in confusion, a contraction is a shortened word or abbreviation created by combining two words and omitting certain letters.

To make ‘Londis’, moniker makers mashed the ‘Lon’ from London, the ‘Di’ from District, and the ‘S’ from Stores to make the ‘Londis’ name that we know and love.

We guess you learn something every day, right?

SPAM name meaning debate

Interestingly, people are seemingly only just learning the history behind another UK staple.

For years, people have believed that SPAM, the iconic tinned meat product created by Hormel Foods in 1937, was an acronym.

Some believed it meant ‘Shoulder Pork and Meat’ whilst others joked it could stand for ‘Spare Parts of Animal Meat’ or ‘Salted Pork Aggregated Meat’.

However, it turns out the name is actually a portmanteau.

The latter is created when two unique words are combined to create a new term. Brunch, hangry, and spork are all exampled of portmanteau, as is SPAM.

Fans of SPAM have been debating its name for years (Hormel Foods)

"There are some questions that continually plague man over time,” the brand wrote. “Questions like 'Is there intelligent life beyond Earth?' And 'What is the meaning of the SPAM brand name?' Unfortunately, we can provide answers to neither.

“The significance of the SPAM brand name has long been a subject of speculation. One popular belief says it's derived from the words 'spiced ham.'

"The real answer is known by only a small circle of former Hormel Foods executives. And probably Nostradamus," they joked.

"Many myths abound, but the answer is actually quite simple," the statement adds.

"Six simple ingredients - pork with ham, salt, water, potato starch, sugar and sodium nitrite.

It’s therefore suggested that SPAM is actually a portmanteau of ‘spiced’ and ‘ham’. The more you know!