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THE BIG FOUR OF OLD COLOMBO-by Ifham Nizam Source:Island THE BIG FOUR DEPARTMENT STORES OF OLD COLOMBO By the 1950s Colombo’s plush Fort area had come to have four well known department stores in the best European tradition. These were Cargills, Millers, Whiteaways and Colombo Apothecaries. These were Colombo’s ‘BIG FOUR’ and all of them seem to have been based on the British model of a Department Store in the fashion of Harrods of London. A shopping complex with various departments under one roof was of course a great convenience to shoppers. Department stores of this nature also had a reputation to maintain and stocked only products of the highest quality and some even extended credit to more loyal customers. In one-time colonies like Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, patronizing these high-end stores were a status symbol as well. For instance we have a Ceylonese writer, J.Vijayatunga stating in his book ...