Richard Tompkins; Introduced Trading Stamps to Great Britain

Richard Tompkins, 74, who amassed a fortune by introducing U.S.-style trading stamps to the British Isles. In 1958, after a trip to the United States, Tompkins launched his Green Shield Stamp Trading Co. The stamps--similar to Green Stamps--helped revolutionize British shopping habits. The company sold the stamps to supermarkets and gas stations, which then gave them to customers as an incentive to spend. The more goods the customer bought, the more stamps he or she received. The stamps could be exchanged for goods at Green Shield centers. In their heyday, about half the British public collected them. Tompkins amassed an estimated $39 million in 15 years. But inflation in the 1970s killed the stamps’ popularity because customers preferred cash discounts. Tompkins’ effort to revive them in the late 1980s failed. In London on Sundayf undisclosed causes.