You are here: 10 Questions - High Street Acronyms




High Street Acronyms


What the initials of famous stores stand for?



  1. ALDI - Albrecht (the family who started it) - Discount
  2. ASDA - Associated Dairies
  3. ADIDAS - Adolf "Adi" Dassler
  4. ASOS - AsSeenOnScreen
  5. BHS - British Home Stores
  6. B&M - Billington & Mayman
  7. B&Q - Block & Quayle
  8. C&A - Clemens and August
  9. DFS - Direct Furnishing Supplies
  10. H&M - Hennes & Mauritz AB
  11. HMV - His Master's Voice
  12. HSBC - Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
  13. IKEA - Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (the initials of founder Ingvar Kamprad, the farm which he grew up on called Elmtaryd, and the nearby village (Agunnaryd))
  14. JD Sports - John Wardle and David Makin
  15. LEGO - from 'leg godt' (which translates to 'play well' in English)
  16. MFI - Mullard Furniture Industries (Founded in 1964)
  17. ODEON - Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation
  18. QVC - Quality Value Convenience
  19. TESCO - founder Jack Cohen took an early consignment of tea from T.E. Stockwell. Labels were made with the initials of the supplier's name (TES), and the first two letters of his surname (CO).
  20. Waitrose - started in 1904 by a Mr Waite and a Mr Rose