Richard Tompkins

Granville Richard Francis Tompkins (15 May 1918 – 6 December 1992) was a British print, advertising and retail entrepreneur, best known for founding the Green Shield Stamps company, as well as the Argos chain of catalogue stores which became one of the largest retailers in the United Kingdom, and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Career Richard Tompkins was born in Islington, north London, and worked as an engineering draughtsman during the Second World War, before founding his first printing business in 1945.

On holiday in Chicago in the 1950s, Tompkins witnessed the success of S&H Green Stamps, and on his return founded the Green Shield Stamp Trading Company in the United Kingdom. He died later in the year.