Children explore a neighborhood baqala in Saudi Arabia—a once-ubiquitous corner shop model now disappearing amid modern retail reforms. (Source: Shutterstock)
They had no marketing strategy, no brand identity, and often no name. It was the boggle at the end of the road, or the baqala that had the blue ice cream, or even the baqala in which Muhammed worked. Yet for decades, the humble baqala—the corner shop of Saudi Arabia—was a central fixture in daily life.
After all, it was the easiest way of getting daily household items in the…
