J Sainsbury
Encyclopedia
J. Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsbury's, the third largest chain of supermarket
s in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.5%.
The group's head office is in the Sainsbury's Store Support Centre in Holborn Circus
, City of London
. The group also has interests in property and banking.
Sainsbury's was founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury
and his wife Mary Ann Sainsbury (née Staples), in London, England, and grew rapidly during the Victorian era. It grew to become the largest grocery retailer in 1922, pioneered self-service retailing in the UK, and had its heyday during the 1980s. In 1995, Tesco
overtook Sainsbury's to become the market leader, and Asda
became the second largest in 2003, demoting Sainsbury's into third place.
The founding Sainsbury family
still retain approximately 15% of J Sainsbury plc shares (as of May 2008), through various trusts. The family reduced their stake from 35% in 2005. The largest Sainsbury family shareholders are Lord Sainsbury of Turville with 5.83% and Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, who controls just under 3% of the company, and benefits from 1.6% of the equity included in the above. The largest overall shareholder is the investment vehicle of the Qatari royal family who now hold 26.145% of the company.
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
.
and his wife Mary Ann opened a store at 173 Drury Lane in Holborn
, London. He started as a retailer of fresh foods and later expanded into packaged groceries such as tea and sugar. His trading philosophy, as stated on a sign outside his first shop in Islington, was "Quality perfect, prices lower".
It was very innovative in that its stores, instead of featuring five own-brand lines like arch-rival Home and Colonial, it offered a wide range of own label lines in comparison. Instead of saw dust floors and wooden counters, Sainsbury's boasted marble counters, mosaic floors and white-tiled walls. Staff even had a uniform of white aprons. Stores started to look similar, so people could recognise them throughout London, a high cast iron 'J. SAINSBURY.' sign featured on every store so their stores could be seen on coaches and omnibuses, and round-the-back deliveries started to add extra convenience and not upset rivals due to Sainsbury's popularity.
In 1922 J Sainsbury was incorporated as a private company, as 'J. Sainsbury Limited', when it became the UK's largest grocery group.
By this time each store had six departments: dairy, bacon and hams, poultry and game, cooked meats and fresh meats. Groceries had not been introduced until 1903 when John James purchased a grocer's branch at 12 Kingsland High Street, Dalston. Home delivery featured in every store as there were fewer cars in those days. Sites were carefully chosen, with a central position in a parade selected in preference to a corner shop. This allowed a larger display of products, which could be kept cooler in summer, which was important as there was no refrigeration.
By the time John James Sainsbury died in 1928, there were 128 shops. His last words were said to be 'Keep the shops well lit'. He was replaced by his eldest son, John Benjamin Sainsbury, who had gone into partnership with his father in 1915.
During the 1930s and 1940s, with the company now run by John James Sainsbury's eldest son, John Benjamin Sainsbury, the company continued to refine its product offer and maintain its leadership in terms of store design, convenience and cleanliness. The company acquired the Midlands-based Thoroughgood chain in 1936.
Alan Sainsbury, the founder's grandson (later Lord Sainsbury of Drury Lane) became joint managing director of Sainsbury's along with his brother Sir Robert Sainsbury in 1938 after their father, John Benjamin Sainsbury, had a minor heart attack.
Following the outbreak of World War II
, many of the men that worked for Sainsbury's were called to do National Service and were replaced by women. Given Sainsbury's reputation for quality foods at fair prices, the Second World War were difficult times for Sainsbury's, as with most of its stores trading in the London area, were bombed or damaged. Turnover fell to half the pre-war level. Food was rationed, and one particular store in East Grinstead
was so badly damaged on Friday 9 July 1943, that it had to move to the local Church as a temporary replacement, whilst a new one was built. This store was not completed until 1951.
in 1950.
Sainsbury's was a pioneer in the development of own-brand goods; the aim was to offer products that matched the quality of nationally branded goods, but at a lower price. It expanded more cautiously than Tesco, shunning acquisitions, and it never offered trading stamps.
; the company rewarded the smaller bids for shares in order to create as many shareholders as possible. A million shares were set aside for staff, which led to many staff members buying shares that shot up in value. Within one minute the list of applications was closed: £495 million had been offered for £14.5 million available shares. The Sainsbury family at the time retained 85% of the firm's shares. The feverish press that surrounded the flotation greatly enhanced the company's new dynamic image.
The company benefited, too, from a consistency of management stemming from family ownership and control. The fact that it did not go public until 1973 was not a disadvantage; unlike Tesco
, Sainsbury's grew organically rather than by takeovers, and, at least during this period, did not need to use its shares as an acquisition currency. Sainsbury's had the advantage, shared to some extent by Tesco, of a strong market position in London and the South East.
Most of the senior positions were held by family members; John Davan Sainsbury (later Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover), a member of the fourth generation of the founding family, took over the chairmanship from his uncle Sir Robert Sainsbury in 1969, who had been chairman for two years from 1967 following Alan Sainsbury's retirement.
Sainsbury's started to replace its 10000 sq ft (929 m²) High Street stores with self-service supermarkets above 20000 sq ft (1,858.1 m²), which were either in out-of-town locations or in regenerated town centres. Sainsbury's policy was to invest in uniform, well-designed stores with a strong emphasis on quality; its slogan was "good food costs less at Sainsbury's". During the 1970s the average size of Sainsbury's stores rose from 10000 sq ft (929 m²) to around 18000 sq ft (1,672.3 m²); the first edge-of-town store, with 24000 sq ft (2,229.7 m²) of selling space, was opened in Cambridge
in 1974. The last counter service branch closed in Peckham
in 1982.
Although these larger stores contained some non-food items, they were not intended to match what Asda
had been doing in the north; Sainsbury's focused more single-mindedly on food.
To participate in the hypermarket sector, Sainsbury's formed a joint venture, known as SavaCentre
, with British Home Stores. The first SavaCentre store was opened in Washington, Tyne and Wear
, in 1977; nearly half the space, amounting to some 35000 sq ft (3,251.6 m²), was devoted to textiles, electrical goods and hardware. As the hypermarket format became more mainstream, with rivals such as Asda and Tesco launching ever-larger stores, it was decided that a separate brand was no longer needed and the stores were converted to the regular Sainsbury's superstore format in 1999. This is in direct contrast to rival firms Tesco and Asda, which have been rapidly expanding their Tesco Extra and Asda Wal-Mart Supercentre hypermarket formats in recent years.
Another diversification took place in 1979, when Sainsbury's formed a joint venture with the Belgian retailer, GB-Inno-BM, to set up a chain of do-it-yourself stores under the Homebase
name. The plan was to open a DIY store with a supermarket-style layout. Homebase was tripled in size in 1995 with the acquisition of the rival Texas Homecare
from the Ladbroke Group plc. Sainsbury's sold the Homebase chain in December 2000 in a twofold deal worth £969 million. Sales of the chain of stores to venture capitalist Schroder Ventures generated £750 million and sale of 28 development sites, which had been earmarked for future Homebase stores, were sold for £219 million to rival B&Q's parent company, Kingfisher plc
.
The company's growth was still largely based on food, with only a modest contribution from the SavaCentre business (of which Sainsbury's took full control in 1989). There was, however, diversification outside the UK.
In November 1983 Sainsbury's purchased 21% of Shaw's Supermarkets
, the second largest grocery group in the northeastern United States (primarily in New England). In June 1987, Sainsbury's acquired the rest of the company with the intention of creating a high-quality regional food retailing business based on the same principles as the UK-based operation.
In 1985 the Chairman reported that over the preceding ten years profits had grown from £15 million to over £168 million, a compound annual rise of 30.4% – after allowing for inflation a real annual growth rate of 17.6%.
During the 1980s the Company invested in new technology: the proportion of sales passing through EPOS scanning checkouts rose from 1% to 90%.
With the advent of out of town shopping complexes during the 1980s, Sainsbury's was one of the many big retail names to open new stores in such complexes - notably with its store at the Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield
(originally as a SavaCentre) in 1990, which was converted into a regular Sainsbury store in 2005, and was closed in 2006 and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre
at Brierley Hill
in the West Midlands
(part of an Enterprise Zone), which opened in September 1989 to replace a store in Dudley
town centre. The success of the Merry Hill store, combined with the onset of the recession resulted in a fall in trade at the nearby store in Halesowen
, which closed in 1992.
Sainsbury's expanded its operation into Scotland with a store in Darnley
opening in January 1992, (the SavaCentre at Cameron Toll
in Edinburgh had opened in 1984). In June 1995 Sainsbury's announced its intention to move into the Northern Ireland market, until that point dominated by local companies. Between December 1996 and December 1998 the company opened seven stores. Two others at Sprucefield
, Lisburn and Holywood Exchange
, Belfast would not open until 2003 due to protracted legal challenges. Sainsbury's move into Northern Ireland was undertaken in a very different way from that of Tesco. While Sainsbury's outlets were all new developments, Tesco (apart from one Tesco Metro) instead purchased existing chains from Associated British Foods
(see Tesco Ireland
).
In 1991, the group boasted a 12-year record of dividend increases of 20% or more and earnings per share had risen by as much for nearly as long. Also in 1991 the company raised £489 million in new equity to fund the expansion of superstores.
retired and was succeeded as chairman and chief executive by his cousin, David Sainsbury (later Lord Sainsbury of Turville); this brought about a change in management style - David was more consensual and less hierarchical but not in strategy or in corporate beliefs about the company's place in the market. Mistakes by David Sainsbury and his successors, Dino Adriano and Peter Davis
, included the rejection of loyalty cards, the reluctance to move into non-food retailing, the indecision between whether to go quality or for value, "the sometimes brutal treatment of suppliers" which led to suppliers favouring Tesco over Sainsbury's and the unsuccessful John Cleese
advertising campaign.
At the end of 1993 it announced price cuts on 300 of its most popular own-label lines. Significantly, this came three months after Tesco had launched its Tesco Value line. A few months later Sainsbury's announced that margins had fallen, that the pace of new superstore construction would slow down, and that it would write down the value of some of its properties.
In 1994 Sainsbury's announced a new town-centre format, Sainsbury's Central, again a response to Tesco's Metro, which was already established in five locations. Also in 1994 Sainsbury's lost the takeover battle for William Low
(like Tesco, Sainsbury's had long been under-represented in Scotland). Also that year David Sainsbury dismissed Tesco's clubcard initiative as 'an electronic version of Green Shield Stamps
'; the company was soon forced to backtrack, introducing its own Reward Card 18 months later.
For much of the 20th century Sainsbury's had been the market leader in the UK supermarket sector, but in 1996 it lost its place as the UK's largest grocer to Tesco.
Some new ventures were successful, notably the launch of a retail bank, Sainsbury's Bank
, in partnership with Bank of Scotland
.
In addition to Shaw's, Sainsbury's bought a minority stake in another supermarket group, Giant Food, based in Washington DC, although this shareholding was subsequently sold when Ahold
of the Netherlands made a full bid for the company.
Sainsbury's also trebled the size of its Homebase do-it-yourself business in 1996 by merging its business with Texas Homecare
, which it acquired from Ladbroke for £290 million.
In addition to expansion of larger formats and banking services, Sainsbury's decided to provide shopping services to small towns, which led to the construction of "Country Town" stores. These were small supermarkets which enabled large villages to get their weekly shopping without travelling to large out of town stores. These "Country Town" stores were opened mainly across the south east which is historically Sainsbury's strongest market. Potential sites were identified and finally stores were opened in Attleborough and Chipping Ongar(Essex) towards the end of 1998. The "Country Town" format may now be discontinued but the stores which were completed have now been brought up to standard with the rest of the company's portfolio and continue to trade strongly even with many having larger stores within 10 minutes travel from the ""Country Town" stores.
In 1996 the company reported its first fall in profits for 22 years. David Sainsbury announced management changes, involving the appointment of two chief executives, one in charge of UK supermarkets (Dino Adriano) and the other responsible for Homebase and the US (David Bremner).
Finally, in 1998, David Sainsbury himself resigned from the company to pursue a career in politics. He was succeeded as non-executive chairman by George Bull, who had been chairman of Diageo
, and Adriano was promoted to be Group Chief Executive.
, which was developed by M&C Saatchi
, which consisted of the current company logo (right), new corporate colours of "living orange" and blue, Interstate
as the company's new general use lowercase font from the old all uppercase font, the new slogan
"Making life taste better", which replaced their old slogan from the 1960s and new staff uniforms. The strapline was dropped in May 2005 and replaced in September of that year by "Try something new today." This new brand statement was created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. While the Interstate font was used almost exclusively for many years, the company introduced another informal font in 2005 which is used in a wide range of advertising and literature.
In 1999 Sainsbury's acquired an 80.1% share of Egyptian Distribution Group SAE, a retailer in Egypt with 100 stores and 2,000 employees. However poor profitability led to the sale of this share in 2001. On 8 October 1999 the CEO Dino Adriano lost control of the core UK supermarket business, instead assuming responsibility for the rest of the group. David Bremner became head of the UK supermarkets. This was "derided" by the city and described as a "fudge". On 14 January 2000 Sainsbury's reversed this decision by announcing the replacement of Adriano by Sir Peter Davis effective from March.
was chief executive of Sainsbury's. Davis' appointment was well received by investors and analysts. The appointment was only confirmed after Sainsbury's was sure of the support of the Sainsbury family, who snubbed Davis' offer of becoming chief executive in the early 1990s, following which he became Chief Executive of Prudential plc
.
In his first two years he exceeded profit targets, although by 2004 the group had suffered a decline in performance relative to its competitors and was demoted to third in the UK grocery market. Davis also oversaw an almost £3 billion upgrade of stores, distribution and IT equipment, entitled 'Business Transformation Programme', but his successor would later reveal that much of this investment was wasted and he failed in his key goal - improving availability. Part of this investment saw the construction of four fully automated depots, which at £100 million each cost four times more than standard depots.
In 2001, Sainsbury's moved into its current headquarters at Holborn, London. Sainsbury's previously occupied Stamford House and 12 other buildings around Southwark
. However the accounting department remained separate at Streatham
. The building was designed by architectural firm Foster and Partners
and had been developed on the former Mirror Group
site for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture
), however Sainsbury's acquired the 25 year lease when Accenture pulled out.
Sainsbury's is a founding member of the Nectar loyalty card
scheme, which was launched in late 2002 in conjunction with Debenhams
, Barclaycard
and BP
.Since then both Debenhams
and Barclaycard
have left the scheme. The Nectar scheme replaced the Sainsbury's Reward Card; accrued points were transferred over.
In 2003 Wm Morrison Supermarkets (trading as Morrisons) made an offer for the Safeway
group, prompting a bidding war between the major supermarkets. The Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt
, referred the various bids to the Competition Commission
which reported its findings on 26 September. The Commission found that all bids, with the exception of Morrison's, would "operate against the public interest". As part of the approval Morrison's was to dispose of 53 of the combined group's stores. In May 2004 Sainsbury's announced that it would acquire 14 of these stores (13 Safeway stores and 1 Morrison's outlet) located primarily in the Midlands and the North of England.
At the end of March 2004 Davis was promoted to chairman and was replaced as CEO by Justin King
. King joined Sainsbury's in from Marks and Spencer plc where he was a director with responsibility for its food division and Kings Super Markets, Inc. subsidiary in the United States. Schooled in Solihull and a graduate of the University Of Bath, where he took a business administration degree, King was also previously a managing director at Asda with responsibility for hypermarkets. In June 2004 Davis was forced to quit in the face of an impending shareholder revolt over his salary and bonuses. Investors were angered by a bonus share award of over £2 million despite poor company performance. On 19 July 2004 Davis' replacement, Philip Hampton, was appointed as chairman.
King ordered a direct mail campaign to 1 million Sainsbury's customers as part of his 6 month business review asking them what they wanted from the company and where the company could improve. This reaffirmed the commentary of retail analysts - the group was not ensuring that shelves are fully stocked, this due to the failure of the IT systems introduced by Peter Davis
. On 19 October 2004 King unveiled the results of the business review and his plans to revive the company's fortunes - in a three year recovery plan entitled 'Making Sainsbury's Great Again'. This was generally well received by both the stock market and the media. Immediate plans included laying off 750 headquarters staff and the recruitment of around 3,000 shop-floor staff to improve the quality of service and the firm's main problem: stock availability. The aim would be to increase sales revenue by £2.5 billion by the financial year ending March 2008. Another significant announcement was the halving of the dividend
to increase funds available for price cuts and quality.
King hired Lawrence Christensen as supply chain director in 2004. Previously he was an expert in logistics at Safeway
, but left following its takeover by Morrisons
. Immediate supply chain improvements included the reactivation of two distribution centres. In 2006 Christensen commented on the four automated depots introduced by Davis, saying "not a single day went by without one, if not all of them, breaking down... The systems were flawed. They have to stop for four hours every day for maintenance. But because they were constantly breaking down you would be playing catch up. It was a vicious circle." Christensen said a fundamental mistake was to build four such depots at once, rather than building one which could be thoroughly tested before progressing with the others. At the time of the business review on 19 October 2004, referring to the availability problems, Justin King said "Lawrence hadn't seen anything that he hadn't seen before. He just hadn't seen them all in the same place at the same time". In 2007 Sainsbury's announced a further £12 million investment in its depots to keep pace with sales growth and the removal of the failed automated systems from its depots. In addition, it did a deal with IBM to upgrade its Electronic - Point of Sale systems as a result of increased sales.
Sainsbury's sold its American subsidiary, Shaw's
, to Albertsons in 2004. Also in 2004 Sainsbury's expanded its share of the convenience store
market through acquisitions. Bell's Stores, a 54 store chain based in north-east England was acquired in February 2004. Jackson's Stores
, a chain of 114 stores based in Yorkshire and the North Midlands, was purchased in August 2004. JB Beaumont, a chain of 6 stores in the East Midlands was acquired in November 2004. SL Shaw Ltd, which owned six stores was acquired on 28 April 2005 for £6 million.
Since the launch of King's recovery programme, the company has reported nineteen consecutive quarters of sales growth, most recently in October 2009. Early sales increases were credited to solving problems with the company's distribution system. More recent sales improvements have been put down to price cuts and the company's focus on fresh and healthy food.
, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Blackstone Group
announced that they were considering a bid for Sainsbury's. The consortium grew to include Goldman Sachs
and Texas Pacific Group
. On 6 March 2007, with a formal bid yet to be tabled, the Takeover Panel issued a bid deadline of 13 April.
On 4 April KKR left the consortium to focus on its bid for Alliance Boots
. On 5 April the consortium submitted an "indicative offer" of 562p a share to the company's board. After discussions between Sir Philip Hampton and the two largest Sainsbury family shareholders Lord Sainsbury of Turville and Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover the offer was rejected. On 9 April the indicative offer was raised to 582p a share, however this too was rejected. This meant the consortium could not satisfy its own preconditions for a bid, most importantly 75% shareholder support; the combined Sainsbury family holding at the time was 18%.
Lord Sainsbury of Turville, who then held 7.75% of Sainsbury's, stated that he could see no reason why the Sainsbury's board would even consider opening its books for due diligence for anything less than 600p per share. Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, with just under 3%, was more extreme than his cousin, and refused to sell at any price. He believed any offer at that stage of Sainsbury's recovery was likely to undervalue the business, and with private equity seeking high returns on their investments, saw no reason to sell, given that the current management, led by Justin King, could deliver the extra profit generated for the benefit of existing investors. He claimed the bid 'brought nothing to the business', and that high levels of debt would significantly weaken the company and its competitive position in the long-term, which would have an adverse effect on Sainsbury's stakeholders.
On 11 April the CVC-led consortium abandoned its offer, stating "it became clear the consortium would be unable to make a proposal that would result in a successful offer."
In May 2007 Sainsbury's identified five areas of growth: Growth of non-food ranges; opening of new convenience stores and growth of online home delivery and banking operations; Expansion of supermarket space through new stores and development of the company's "largely underdeveloped store portfolio"; and "active property management".
On 18 July 2007 BBC News reported that Delta Two had tabled a conditional bid proposal.
Paul Taylor, the principal of Delta Two, flew David and John Sainsbury to Sardinia
to reveal and discuss the potential bid which amounted to 600p per share.
The family had reservations about the price of the bid. Secondly, they were concerned about the proposed structure which involved splitting the business into an operating company and a highly-leveraged property company. Thirdly, they were concerned about adequacy of funding both for the bid and for the company's pension scheme.
On 5 November 2007 it was announced Delta Two had abandoned its takeover bid due to the "deterioration of credit markets
" and concerns about funding the company's pension scheme.
On 4 October 2007 Sainsbury's announced plans to relocate its Store Support Centre from Holborn to Kings Cross in 2011. The new office will be part of a new complex to allow for both cost savings and energy efficiency. These savings will be made through the use of efficient building materials and design, a combined heat and power energy centre and the use of renewable energy sources.
In January 2008 Sainsbury's brought its number of Northern Ireland supermarkets to 11 with the purchase of two Curley's Supermarkets in Dungannon and Belfast, which includes those stores' petrol stations and off licences.
In March 2009 Sainsbury's announced it was buying 24 stores from The Co-operative, 22 of which were Somerfield
stores and the remaining 2 were Co-op stores: these are part of their estate which The Co-operative were required to sell following the completion of the Somerfield
takeover.
A further 9 stores were purchased from The Co-operative in June 2009. These were concentrated in west Wales, the north of England and Scotland where Sainsbury's market share is low.
In November 2007, Sainsburys centralised their HR department, relocating to the 17th and 18th floors of Manchester's Arndale Centre to form a Shared Service Centre which was initially trialled to deal with Recruitment in Scotland and was later rolled out to the whole country.
July 2009 saw the HR Shared Service Centre in Manchester expand to include most HR Processes in their Colleague Administration Department and Occupational Health enquiries in a dedicated unit.
In May 2010 Justin King announced that Sainsbury's pledged to involve each of its 850 stores in the promotion of the Paralympics after the multimillion-pound deal with Locog to be the main sponsor of the London 2012 Paralympic games. The sum was not disclosed. Sainsbury’s will sell Paralympic merchandise and become involved in high-profile events such as the torch relay. It will be one of only two sponsors able to take advantage of the limited branding allowed within the Games. The promotional rights do not extend to the Olympics.
In September 2011 it was announced that the "Try Something New Today" slogan would be replaced with "Live Well For Less", this decision was made after a 18 month business review. The slogan will be phased in, and will be prominent on till receipts from 16th September.
. Earnings per share in years other than 1994, 2005 and 2006 fell in the range 14p–33p.
, which sells financial services, and is a joint venture with Lloyds Banking Group; Sainsbury's Online internet shopping services; and has a property portfolio worth £8.6 billion (as of March 2007).
It is the third largest supermarket chain in the UK (since 2009), and places an emphasis on a higher quality grocery offering compared to its other large rivals.
According to Kantar Worldpanel rankings published in January 2008, Sainsbury's market share was 16.4% compared to Tesco's 31.5%, Asda's 16.7% and Morrison's 11.4%.
Subsidiary businesses of Sainsbury's include the following:
According to CACI
, as of 2006, Sainsbury's has market dominance in 8 postcode areas; TQ
(Torquay
), SN
(Swindon
), GU (Guildford
), RH
(Redhill
), DA (Dartford
), SE
(South East London
), EN (Enfield
) and WV
(Wolverhampton
).
It is particularly strong in London and the South-East, where it is based.
Sainsbury's has powerful positions within many UK cities; for example in Southampton
there are 5 Sainsbury's supermarkets and 2 Sainsbury's Local stores, one of the supermarkets in Southampton is also one of its Flagship stores.
The supermarket chain operates three main store formats; regular Sainsbury's stores ('Main Mission'), Sainsbury's Local and Sainsbury's Central (convenience stores and smaller supermarkets in urban locations - 'Mixed Mission') and Sainsbury's 'Main Plus' (hypermarket) stores. Unlike Tesco (Tesco Extra) and Asda (Asda Wal-Mart Supercentre), Sainsbury's does not employ a separate brand for its hypermarkets, having phased out the 'Savacentre' fascia several years ago.
At the end of its 2010/11 financial year Sainsbury's store portfolio was as follows.
Traditionally, the majority of Sainsbury's stores were located in the areas around London and south-east England. The company acquired the Midlands-based Thoroughgood in the 1930s. Expansion since 1945 has given the company national reach, although the chain is not as represented in Scotland as other chains such as Tesco, and Morrisons (as Safeway dominated Scotland before being taken over by that company). This is partly due to the fact that Sainsbury's lost out to Tesco in the bidding war for William Low
in the 1990s.
Since 1999, Sainsbury's stores have received a new look. The old 'J Sainsbury' name, used in various forms since 1869, was scrapped and replaced by 'Sainsbury's'. Most stores were refurbished with dark blue walls, bright orange wall panels and grey shelving, as well as new checkouts. Individual counters also have different brightly coloured panels behind them. The new flagship store in Greenwich
, South London, was the first to receive this new look, leading to the term 'Greenwich Blue', which is used to describe the signature colour of a typical store. This format was subsequently rolled out across the entire store estate.
Following the introduction of the 'Try something new today' slogan in 2005, stores were again refurbished with cream walls, and dark red and dark blue signage, along with cream coloured shelving and checkouts. New aubergine-coloured staff uniforms have been introduced to all stores.
Old external signage bearing the 'J Sainsbury' name has still been found in use as recently as summer 2011 in Swindon and at Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
closed down in the 1990s) and in terms of store decoration, (which became identical to the Sainsbury's 'Main Mission' outlets). They occupy a wide range of both grocery and non-food, as a 50:50 split similar to Tesco Extra, and can therefore accommodate the weekly shop and more. These large stores have over 45000 sq ft (4,180.6 m²) of sales area, and original SavaCentres include Merton
, London Colney
and Sydenham
in London, and Calcot in Reading
. A large 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²) 'Main Plus' store has been confirmed for Slough
, on the site of the old Co-op store which Tesco used while it was building its 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²) Extra store, currently the largest in the UK.
Both of the above formats trade simply as Sainsbury's, so you cannot tell which format you are in unless you know what to look for. Customers will notice a larger product range, particularly non-food in a 'Main Plus' store.
Sainsbury's now has many large stores, especially its Flagship Stores, such as Southampton
(Hedge End), London Colney (Hertfordshire), Greenwich (London) and Hayes (Middlesex).
On 29 September 2010 Sainsbury's opened one of its largest UK stores, an extension of their existing store in Crayford, Kent, which now boasts over 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²) of retail space and is their largest supermarket to be built in the UK. Just recently Bybrook in Ashford Kent, which opened on the 16th November 2011 now also boasts over 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²). In the same week they also opened their biggest store in Scotland at Darnley (90000 sq ft (8,361.3 m²)) and their biggest in Wales at Newport (76000 sq ft (7,060.6 m²)).
The newly refurbished Lincoln, Lincolnshire
store opened on 24 November 2010 making it the UK's second largest Sainsbury's supermarket after Crayford at 98712 sq ft (9,170.6 m²).
The most northern Sainsbury's store is a 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²) supermarket in Nairn
, which opened in August 2011. Helston
, which opened in 2010, is the company's most south-westerly store.
formats. Sainsbury's Central stores are between 7000 sq ft (650.3 m²) and 20000 sq ft (1,858.1 m²), which is a mini supermarket, and Sainsbury's Local stores are between 2000 sq ft (185.8 m²) and 6000 sq ft (557.4 m²) in size, carrying a top-up shop and grab-and-go offer. Sainsbury's Local stores have different decoration to the other two formats - 'Main Mission' and 'Main Plus'.
Sainsbury's Central has now been phased out, to be replaced by the Sainsbury's 'Main Mission' format. This was announced in 2004, but several former Sainsbury's Central stores, including Croydon
, Holborn
, Tottenham Court Road
, Glasgow
and Reading
, have yet to be refurbished and converted.
As well as its own Local and Central stores Sainsbury's has expanded through acquisition of existing chains (Bell's Stores, Jackson's Stores
, JB Beaumont, and SL Shaw Ltd).
Sainsbury's initially retained the strong Bells and Jacksons brands. For example, refurbished stores were called Sainsbury's at Bells or Sainsbury's at Jacksons. These were effectively Sainsbury's Local stores with a revised fascia, retaining some features of the former local chain. Unrefurbished stores retained the original brand and logo, but still offered Sainsbury's own brand products, pricing and some point of sale, without accepting Nectar cards. The old websites were also retained with some Sainsbury's branding.
This was an experimental format and on 4 May 2007 it was announced that all stores would be re branded as Sainsbury's Local, with the management teams of the smaller stores integrated into Sainsbury's own teams.
The most northern Sainsbury's Local is the Rosemount Place store in Aberdeen
, which opened on Friday 17 December 2010.
has been the public face of Sainsbury's, appearing on television and radio advertisements and in-store promotional material. The deal earns him an estimated £1.2 million every year. In the first two years these advertisements are estimated to have given Sainsbury's an extra £1 billion of sales or £200 million gross profit. Jamie Oliver's deal with Sainsbury's will cease after Christmas 2011.
Sainsbury's currently uses the "Live Well For Less" slogan which was launched on 15 September 2011. The television adverts are also often accompanied by The Polyphonic Spree's
Light & Day. Over the years, Sainsbury's has used many slogans:
In 2008 they created a shopping incentive by showing that, when shopping at Sainsbury's, you can feed your family for only five pounds. The incentive, called "Feed your family for a fiver", with the flagship of "Meatballs 'n' More" has been advertised on British television channels, with Jamie Oliver cooking for a family.
Sainsbury's Active Kids
is a loyalty voucher scheme by Sainsbury's.
Sainsbury's is a sponsor of the Paralympic Summer Games
in London 2012, and it is the largest sponsorship signed in the history of the Games.
A large store typically stocks around 30,000 lines of which around 20% are "own-label" goods. These own-brand lines include:
, adopted online recruitment at around the same time but have set aside a telephone recruitment system as an alternative for prospective employees who do not have internet access.
revealed how Kenyan workers supplying Sainsbury's with cut flowers face appalling conditions and poverty wages.
It was previously called 'Sainsbury's to You' and 'Sainsbury's entertain You', and prior to that it was called 'Sainsbury's Orderline'.
, now part of the Lloyds Banking Group
. Services offered include car, life, home, pet and travel insurance as well as health cover, loans, credit cards, savings accounts and ISA
s.
As well as this, Sainsbury's Bank also offers a Travel Money service in stores, with 'Sainsbury's Travel Money' opening the 100th Travel Money bureau in its estate in May 2010 at the Hempstead Valley shopping centre store. These foreign exchange bureaus are operated in association with Travelex and offer a full bureau de change service instore.
Sainsbury's also has a depot at Buntingford Hertfordshire
. This depot is usually not in operation; however Sainsbury's still own the site and continue to use the depot at busy times, particularly at Christmas. Buntingford, on the A10 road, is ready for use as an emergency depot for the rest of the year.
Originally Sainsbury's ran its own distribution network. However after an industrial dispute with their drivers in the 1970s, and with the intention of streamlining and consolidation, much of the distribution is now contracted out - to distribution specialists such as TDG, DHL, NFT & Wincanton.
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.5%.
The group's head office is in the Sainsbury's Store Support Centre in Holborn Circus
Holborn Circus
Holborn Circus is a famous location in London, on the boundary between Holborn and Smithfield. Holborn Circus is a roundabout.On one side lies the Church of St Andrew, Holborn, an ancient Guild Church, that survived the Great Fire of London. However, the parochial authority decided, nevertheless,...
, City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. The group also has interests in property and banking.
Sainsbury's was founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury
John James Sainsbury
John James Sainsbury was the founder of the Sainsbury's supermarket chain.-Early and private life:John James Sainsbury was born on 12 June 1844 at 5 Oakley Street, Lambeth, to John Sainsbury , ornament and picture frame maker, and his wife Elizabeth Sarah, née Coombes...
and his wife Mary Ann Sainsbury (née Staples), in London, England, and grew rapidly during the Victorian era. It grew to become the largest grocery retailer in 1922, pioneered self-service retailing in the UK, and had its heyday during the 1980s. In 1995, Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
overtook Sainsbury's to become the market leader, and Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
became the second largest in 2003, demoting Sainsbury's into third place.
The founding Sainsbury family
Sainsbury family
The Sainsbury family founded Sainsbury's, the UK's third largest supermarket chain...
still retain approximately 15% of J Sainsbury plc shares (as of May 2008), through various trusts. The family reduced their stake from 35% in 2005. The largest Sainsbury family shareholders are Lord Sainsbury of Turville with 5.83% and Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, who controls just under 3% of the company, and benefits from 1.6% of the equity included in the above. The largest overall shareholder is the investment vehicle of the Qatari royal family who now hold 26.145% of the company.
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
.
History
The Victorian era
Sainsbury's was established as a partnership in 1869 when John James SainsburyJohn James Sainsbury
John James Sainsbury was the founder of the Sainsbury's supermarket chain.-Early and private life:John James Sainsbury was born on 12 June 1844 at 5 Oakley Street, Lambeth, to John Sainsbury , ornament and picture frame maker, and his wife Elizabeth Sarah, née Coombes...
and his wife Mary Ann opened a store at 173 Drury Lane in Holborn
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
, London. He started as a retailer of fresh foods and later expanded into packaged groceries such as tea and sugar. His trading philosophy, as stated on a sign outside his first shop in Islington, was "Quality perfect, prices lower".
It was very innovative in that its stores, instead of featuring five own-brand lines like arch-rival Home and Colonial, it offered a wide range of own label lines in comparison. Instead of saw dust floors and wooden counters, Sainsbury's boasted marble counters, mosaic floors and white-tiled walls. Staff even had a uniform of white aprons. Stores started to look similar, so people could recognise them throughout London, a high cast iron 'J. SAINSBURY.' sign featured on every store so their stores could be seen on coaches and omnibuses, and round-the-back deliveries started to add extra convenience and not upset rivals due to Sainsbury's popularity.
In 1922 J Sainsbury was incorporated as a private company, as 'J. Sainsbury Limited', when it became the UK's largest grocery group.
By this time each store had six departments: dairy, bacon and hams, poultry and game, cooked meats and fresh meats. Groceries had not been introduced until 1903 when John James purchased a grocer's branch at 12 Kingsland High Street, Dalston. Home delivery featured in every store as there were fewer cars in those days. Sites were carefully chosen, with a central position in a parade selected in preference to a corner shop. This allowed a larger display of products, which could be kept cooler in summer, which was important as there was no refrigeration.
By the time John James Sainsbury died in 1928, there were 128 shops. His last words were said to be 'Keep the shops well lit'. He was replaced by his eldest son, John Benjamin Sainsbury, who had gone into partnership with his father in 1915.
The Interwar years and the Second World War
Alan Sainsbury, the founder's grandson (later Lord Sainsbury of Drury Lane) became joint managing director of Sainsbury's along with his brother Sir Robert Sainsbury in 1938 after their father, John Benjamin Sainsbury, had a minor heart attack.
Following the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, many of the men that worked for Sainsbury's were called to do National Service and were replaced by women. Given Sainsbury's reputation for quality foods at fair prices, the Second World War were difficult times for Sainsbury's, as with most of its stores trading in the London area, were bombed or damaged. Turnover fell to half the pre-war level. Food was rationed, and one particular store in East Grinstead
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
was so badly damaged on Friday 9 July 1943, that it had to move to the local Church as a temporary replacement, whilst a new one was built. This store was not completed until 1951.
Pioneering self-service supermarkets
In 1956, Alan Sainsbury became Chairman after his father, John Benjamin Sainsbury's death. During the 1950s and 1960s Sainsbury's pioneered self-service supermarkets in the UK. On a trip to the United States of America, Alan Sainsbury realised the benefits of self-service stores, and believed the future of Sainsbury's was self-service supermarkets of 10000 sq ft (929 m²), with eventually the added bonus of a car park for extra convenience. The first self-service branch opened in CroydonLondon Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...
in 1950.
Sainsbury's was a pioneer in the development of own-brand goods; the aim was to offer products that matched the quality of nationally branded goods, but at a lower price. It expanded more cautiously than Tesco, shunning acquisitions, and it never offered trading stamps.
Sainsbury's heyday
Until the company went public on 12 July 1973, as J Sainsbury plc, the company was wholly owned by the Sainsbury family. It was at the time the largest ever flotation on the London Stock ExchangeLondon Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
; the company rewarded the smaller bids for shares in order to create as many shareholders as possible. A million shares were set aside for staff, which led to many staff members buying shares that shot up in value. Within one minute the list of applications was closed: £495 million had been offered for £14.5 million available shares. The Sainsbury family at the time retained 85% of the firm's shares. The feverish press that surrounded the flotation greatly enhanced the company's new dynamic image.
The company benefited, too, from a consistency of management stemming from family ownership and control. The fact that it did not go public until 1973 was not a disadvantage; unlike Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Sainsbury's grew organically rather than by takeovers, and, at least during this period, did not need to use its shares as an acquisition currency. Sainsbury's had the advantage, shared to some extent by Tesco, of a strong market position in London and the South East.
Most of the senior positions were held by family members; John Davan Sainsbury (later Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover), a member of the fourth generation of the founding family, took over the chairmanship from his uncle Sir Robert Sainsbury in 1969, who had been chairman for two years from 1967 following Alan Sainsbury's retirement.
Sainsbury's started to replace its 10000 sq ft (929 m²) High Street stores with self-service supermarkets above 20000 sq ft (1,858.1 m²), which were either in out-of-town locations or in regenerated town centres. Sainsbury's policy was to invest in uniform, well-designed stores with a strong emphasis on quality; its slogan was "good food costs less at Sainsbury's". During the 1970s the average size of Sainsbury's stores rose from 10000 sq ft (929 m²) to around 18000 sq ft (1,672.3 m²); the first edge-of-town store, with 24000 sq ft (2,229.7 m²) of selling space, was opened in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in 1974. The last counter service branch closed in Peckham
Peckham
Peckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
in 1982.
Although these larger stores contained some non-food items, they were not intended to match what Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
had been doing in the north; Sainsbury's focused more single-mindedly on food.
To participate in the hypermarket sector, Sainsbury's formed a joint venture, known as SavaCentre
SavaCentre
Sainsbury’s SavaCentre was a chain of 13 hypermarkets and later a further seven discount supermarkets operated by Sainsbury's and BHS, then later by Sainsbury's alone, from 1977 until 2005. The stores have now been integrated into the Sainsbury's supermarket brand. The hypermarket stores ranged in...
, with British Home Stores. The first SavaCentre store was opened in Washington, Tyne and Wear
Washington, Tyne and Wear
Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of Tyne and Wear...
, in 1977; nearly half the space, amounting to some 35000 sq ft (3,251.6 m²), was devoted to textiles, electrical goods and hardware. As the hypermarket format became more mainstream, with rivals such as Asda and Tesco launching ever-larger stores, it was decided that a separate brand was no longer needed and the stores were converted to the regular Sainsbury's superstore format in 1999. This is in direct contrast to rival firms Tesco and Asda, which have been rapidly expanding their Tesco Extra and Asda Wal-Mart Supercentre hypermarket formats in recent years.
Another diversification took place in 1979, when Sainsbury's formed a joint venture with the Belgian retailer, GB-Inno-BM, to set up a chain of do-it-yourself stores under the Homebase
Homebase
Homebase is a British home improvement store and garden centre, with 350 stores across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is well known by its green and orange colour scheme. Together with its sister company Argos , it forms part of Home Retail Group. Homebase recorded sales figures...
name. The plan was to open a DIY store with a supermarket-style layout. Homebase was tripled in size in 1995 with the acquisition of the rival Texas Homecare
Texas Homecare
Texas Homecare was a chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, that operated from 1972 until 1999.-History:Texas Homecare was established in 1972 by Manny, Sydney and Gerald Fogel, who had previously founded the high street specialist paint and wallpaper chain Home Charm...
from the Ladbroke Group plc. Sainsbury's sold the Homebase chain in December 2000 in a twofold deal worth £969 million. Sales of the chain of stores to venture capitalist Schroder Ventures generated £750 million and sale of 28 development sites, which had been earmarked for future Homebase stores, were sold for £219 million to rival B&Q's parent company, Kingfisher plc
Kingfisher plc
Kingfisher plc is a multinational retailing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest home improvement retailer in Europe and the third-largest in the world...
.
The company's growth was still largely based on food, with only a modest contribution from the SavaCentre business (of which Sainsbury's took full control in 1989). There was, however, diversification outside the UK.
In November 1983 Sainsbury's purchased 21% of Shaw's Supermarkets
Shaw's Supermarkets
Shaw's, along with companion store Star Market, are wholly owned subsidiaries of Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based SuperValu. Together, Shaw's and Star Market comprise the third-largest grocery chain headquartered in New England; behind Stop & Shop and Hannaford, although Shaw’s is the largest grocery...
, the second largest grocery group in the northeastern United States (primarily in New England). In June 1987, Sainsbury's acquired the rest of the company with the intention of creating a high-quality regional food retailing business based on the same principles as the UK-based operation.
In 1985 the Chairman reported that over the preceding ten years profits had grown from £15 million to over £168 million, a compound annual rise of 30.4% – after allowing for inflation a real annual growth rate of 17.6%.
During the 1980s the Company invested in new technology: the proportion of sales passing through EPOS scanning checkouts rose from 1% to 90%.
With the advent of out of town shopping complexes during the 1980s, Sainsbury's was one of the many big retail names to open new stores in such complexes - notably with its store at the Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
(originally as a SavaCentre) in 1990, which was converted into a regular Sainsbury store in 2005, and was closed in 2006 and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Westfield Merry Hill is a shopping centre in Brierley Hill near Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several expansion and renovation projects taking place since. The original developers and owners were Richardson Developments but the Centre has had a number...
at Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
(part of an Enterprise Zone), which opened in September 1989 to replace a store in Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
town centre. The success of the Merry Hill store, combined with the onset of the recession resulted in a fall in trade at the nearby store in Halesowen
Halesowen
Halesowen is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273...
, which closed in 1992.
Sainsbury's expanded its operation into Scotland with a store in Darnley
Darnley
Darnley is an area in south-west Glasgow, Scotland located on the A727 just west of Arden. During the second half of the 20th Century Darnley has experienced total transformation from being a modest semi-rural community to becoming a significant part of Glasgow's response to a post-war housing...
opening in January 1992, (the SavaCentre at Cameron Toll
Cameron Toll
Cameron Toll is a suburb located to the south of Edinburgh, Scotland.Originally it was the site of a toll house built in the early 19th century, which was located on a stretch of road between Edinburgh and Dalkeith...
in Edinburgh had opened in 1984). In June 1995 Sainsbury's announced its intention to move into the Northern Ireland market, until that point dominated by local companies. Between December 1996 and December 1998 the company opened seven stores. Two others at Sprucefield
Sprucefield
Sprucefield is a major out-of-town retail park in the townland of Magherageery, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the southern edge of Lisburn; about one mile from the middle of Lisburn and ten miles from the middle of Belfast. Sprucefield is located beside the M1 motorway and the A1 road...
, Lisburn and Holywood Exchange
Holywood Exchange
Holywood Exchange is a major retail development on the borders of Belfast and Holywood, Northern Ireland. It is beside Belfast City Airport, in the townland of Knocknagoney. The site was previously known as D5 and Harbour Exchange...
, Belfast would not open until 2003 due to protracted legal challenges. Sainsbury's move into Northern Ireland was undertaken in a very different way from that of Tesco. While Sainsbury's outlets were all new developments, Tesco (apart from one Tesco Metro) instead purchased existing chains from Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods plc is a global food, ingredients and retail company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its ingredients division is the world's second largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major producer of other ingredients including emulsifiers, enzymes and lactose...
(see Tesco Ireland
Tesco Ireland
Tesco Ireland is the Irish arm of supermarket group Tesco. It was formed in Tesco plc's 1997 takeover of the Irish retailing operations of Associated British Foods, namely Powers' Supermarkets Limited and its subsidiaries, trading as Quinnsworth and Crazy Prices.Tesco operates supermarkets under...
).
In 1991, the group boasted a 12-year record of dividend increases of 20% or more and earnings per share had risen by as much for nearly as long. Also in 1991 the company raised £489 million in new equity to fund the expansion of superstores.
Sainsbury's downfall
In 1992 the long-time CEO John Davan SainsburyJohn Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover
John Davan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, KG is the President of J Sainsbury, a British businessman and politician. He sits in the House of Lords as a member of the Conservative Party.-Early and private life:...
retired and was succeeded as chairman and chief executive by his cousin, David Sainsbury (later Lord Sainsbury of Turville); this brought about a change in management style - David was more consensual and less hierarchical but not in strategy or in corporate beliefs about the company's place in the market. Mistakes by David Sainsbury and his successors, Dino Adriano and Peter Davis
Sir Peter Davis
Sir Peter Davis is a British businessman, who was until June 2004, the chairman of J Sainsbury plc, which operates the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's. He worked for J Sainsbury from 1976 to 1986 and was responsible for all buying and marketing operations.He was chief executive of Prudential plc...
, included the rejection of loyalty cards, the reluctance to move into non-food retailing, the indecision between whether to go quality or for value, "the sometimes brutal treatment of suppliers" which led to suppliers favouring Tesco over Sainsbury's and the unsuccessful John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
advertising campaign.
At the end of 1993 it announced price cuts on 300 of its most popular own-label lines. Significantly, this came three months after Tesco had launched its Tesco Value line. A few months later Sainsbury's announced that margins had fallen, that the pace of new superstore construction would slow down, and that it would write down the value of some of its properties.
In 1994 Sainsbury's announced a new town-centre format, Sainsbury's Central, again a response to Tesco's Metro, which was already established in five locations. Also in 1994 Sainsbury's lost the takeover battle for William Low
William Low
William Low was a chain of supermarkets based in Dundee, Scotland, until it was bought out by Tesco for £257m in 1994....
(like Tesco, Sainsbury's had long been under-represented in Scotland). Also that year David Sainsbury dismissed Tesco's clubcard initiative as 'an electronic version of Green Shield Stamps
Green Shield Stamps
Green Shield Stamps were a sales promotion or incentive loyalty scheme using trading stamps, designed and deployed in the United Kingdom and Ireland to encourage or reward shopping, by being able to buy gifts...
'; the company was soon forced to backtrack, introducing its own Reward Card 18 months later.
For much of the 20th century Sainsbury's had been the market leader in the UK supermarket sector, but in 1996 it lost its place as the UK's largest grocer to Tesco.
Some new ventures were successful, notably the launch of a retail bank, Sainsbury's Bank
Sainsbury's Bank
Sainsbury's Bank, now trading as Sainsbury's Finance, is a 50:50 joint venture between J Sainsbury and Bank of Scotland . Sainsbury’s was the first major British supermarket to open a bank, commencing trading in February 1997...
, in partnership with Bank of Scotland
Bank of Scotland
The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to...
.
In addition to Shaw's, Sainsbury's bought a minority stake in another supermarket group, Giant Food, based in Washington DC, although this shareholding was subsequently sold when Ahold
Ahold
Ahold is a major international supermarket operator based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ahold is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.-History:...
of the Netherlands made a full bid for the company.
Sainsbury's also trebled the size of its Homebase do-it-yourself business in 1996 by merging its business with Texas Homecare
Texas Homecare
Texas Homecare was a chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, that operated from 1972 until 1999.-History:Texas Homecare was established in 1972 by Manny, Sydney and Gerald Fogel, who had previously founded the high street specialist paint and wallpaper chain Home Charm...
, which it acquired from Ladbroke for £290 million.
In addition to expansion of larger formats and banking services, Sainsbury's decided to provide shopping services to small towns, which led to the construction of "Country Town" stores. These were small supermarkets which enabled large villages to get their weekly shopping without travelling to large out of town stores. These "Country Town" stores were opened mainly across the south east which is historically Sainsbury's strongest market. Potential sites were identified and finally stores were opened in Attleborough and Chipping Ongar(Essex) towards the end of 1998. The "Country Town" format may now be discontinued but the stores which were completed have now been brought up to standard with the rest of the company's portfolio and continue to trade strongly even with many having larger stores within 10 minutes travel from the ""Country Town" stores.
In 1996 the company reported its first fall in profits for 22 years. David Sainsbury announced management changes, involving the appointment of two chief executives, one in charge of UK supermarkets (Dino Adriano) and the other responsible for Homebase and the US (David Bremner).
Finally, in 1998, David Sainsbury himself resigned from the company to pursue a career in politics. He was succeeded as non-executive chairman by George Bull, who had been chairman of Diageo
Diageo
Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
, and Adriano was promoted to be Group Chief Executive.
The brand re-launch
In June 1999 Sainsbury's unveiled its new corporate identityCorporate identity
In Corporate Communications, a corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives...
, which was developed by M&C Saatchi
M&C Saatchi
M&C Saatchi is an international advertising agency network formed in January 1995 by the brothers Maurice Saatchi and Charles Saatchi after they were ousted from the advertising agency group Saatchi & Saatchi which they had founded in 1970...
, which consisted of the current company logo (right), new corporate colours of "living orange" and blue, Interstate
Interstate (typeface)
Interstate is a digital typeface designed by Tobias Frere-Jones in the period 1993–1999, and licensed by Font Bureau. The typeface is closely related to the FHWA Series fonts, a signage alphabet drawn for the United States Federal Highway Administration in 1949....
as the company's new general use lowercase font from the old all uppercase font, the new slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
"Making life taste better", which replaced their old slogan from the 1960s and new staff uniforms. The strapline was dropped in May 2005 and replaced in September of that year by "Try something new today." This new brand statement was created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. While the Interstate font was used almost exclusively for many years, the company introduced another informal font in 2005 which is used in a wide range of advertising and literature.
In 1999 Sainsbury's acquired an 80.1% share of Egyptian Distribution Group SAE, a retailer in Egypt with 100 stores and 2,000 employees. However poor profitability led to the sale of this share in 2001. On 8 October 1999 the CEO Dino Adriano lost control of the core UK supermarket business, instead assuming responsibility for the rest of the group. David Bremner became head of the UK supermarkets. This was "derided" by the city and described as a "fudge". On 14 January 2000 Sainsbury's reversed this decision by announcing the replacement of Adriano by Sir Peter Davis effective from March.
Business Transformation Programme
Between 2000-2004, Sir Peter DavisSir Peter Davis
Sir Peter Davis is a British businessman, who was until June 2004, the chairman of J Sainsbury plc, which operates the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's. He worked for J Sainsbury from 1976 to 1986 and was responsible for all buying and marketing operations.He was chief executive of Prudential plc...
was chief executive of Sainsbury's. Davis' appointment was well received by investors and analysts. The appointment was only confirmed after Sainsbury's was sure of the support of the Sainsbury family, who snubbed Davis' offer of becoming chief executive in the early 1990s, following which he became Chief Executive of Prudential plc
Prudential plc
Prudential plc is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.Prudential's largest division is Prudential Corporation Asia, which has over 15 million customers across 13 Asian markets and is a top-three provider of life insurance in mainland China, Hong...
.
In his first two years he exceeded profit targets, although by 2004 the group had suffered a decline in performance relative to its competitors and was demoted to third in the UK grocery market. Davis also oversaw an almost £3 billion upgrade of stores, distribution and IT equipment, entitled 'Business Transformation Programme', but his successor would later reveal that much of this investment was wasted and he failed in his key goal - improving availability. Part of this investment saw the construction of four fully automated depots, which at £100 million each cost four times more than standard depots.
In 2001, Sainsbury's moved into its current headquarters at Holborn, London. Sainsbury's previously occupied Stamford House and 12 other buildings around Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
. However the accounting department remained separate at Streatham
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
. The building was designed by architectural firm Foster and Partners
Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
and had been developed on the former Mirror Group
Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror plc is a large British newspaper and magazine publisher. It is Britain's biggest newspaper group, publishing 240 regional papers as well as the national Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People, and the Scottish Sunday Mail and Daily Record. Its headquarters are at Canary Wharf in...
site for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture
Accenture
Accenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the largest consulting firm in the world and is a Fortune Global 500 company. As of September 2011, the company had more than 236,000 employees across...
), however Sainsbury's acquired the 25 year lease when Accenture pulled out.
Sainsbury's is a founding member of the Nectar loyalty card
Nectar loyalty card
Nectar is a loyalty card scheme in the United Kingdom comprising partner companies including the supermarket chain Sainsbury's, American Express, and BP. A separate Nectar program operates in Italy....
scheme, which was launched in late 2002 in conjunction with Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
, Barclaycard
Barclaycard
Barclaycard, part of Barclays Retail and Business Banking, is a global payment business. The Barclaycard was the first credit card introduced in the UK, coming into service in 1966. It enjoyed a monopoly until the introduction of the Access card in 1972....
and BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
.Since then both Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
and Barclaycard
Barclaycard
Barclaycard, part of Barclays Retail and Business Banking, is a global payment business. The Barclaycard was the first credit card introduced in the UK, coming into service in 1966. It enjoyed a monopoly until the introduction of the Access card in 1972....
have left the scheme. The Nectar scheme replaced the Sainsbury's Reward Card; accrued points were transferred over.
In 2003 Wm Morrison Supermarkets (trading as Morrisons) made an offer for the Safeway
Safeway (UK)
Safeway was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom. It started as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold off in 1987....
group, prompting a bidding war between the major supermarkets. The Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hope Hewitt is an Australian-born British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Leicester West from 1997 until 2010. She served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Health Secretary....
, referred the various bids to the Competition Commission
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
which reported its findings on 26 September. The Commission found that all bids, with the exception of Morrison's, would "operate against the public interest". As part of the approval Morrison's was to dispose of 53 of the combined group's stores. In May 2004 Sainsbury's announced that it would acquire 14 of these stores (13 Safeway stores and 1 Morrison's outlet) located primarily in the Midlands and the North of England.
'Making Sainsbury's Great Again'
Justin King (businessman)
Justin Matthew King, CBE is a British businessman, who is the CEO of J Sainsbury plc, parent company of the supermarket chain Sainsbury's.King was previously Director of Food at Marks and Spencer and has held senior positions at Asda...
. King joined Sainsbury's in from Marks and Spencer plc where he was a director with responsibility for its food division and Kings Super Markets, Inc. subsidiary in the United States. Schooled in Solihull and a graduate of the University Of Bath, where he took a business administration degree, King was also previously a managing director at Asda with responsibility for hypermarkets. In June 2004 Davis was forced to quit in the face of an impending shareholder revolt over his salary and bonuses. Investors were angered by a bonus share award of over £2 million despite poor company performance. On 19 July 2004 Davis' replacement, Philip Hampton, was appointed as chairman.
King ordered a direct mail campaign to 1 million Sainsbury's customers as part of his 6 month business review asking them what they wanted from the company and where the company could improve. This reaffirmed the commentary of retail analysts - the group was not ensuring that shelves are fully stocked, this due to the failure of the IT systems introduced by Peter Davis
Sir Peter Davis
Sir Peter Davis is a British businessman, who was until June 2004, the chairman of J Sainsbury plc, which operates the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's. He worked for J Sainsbury from 1976 to 1986 and was responsible for all buying and marketing operations.He was chief executive of Prudential plc...
. On 19 October 2004 King unveiled the results of the business review and his plans to revive the company's fortunes - in a three year recovery plan entitled 'Making Sainsbury's Great Again'. This was generally well received by both the stock market and the media. Immediate plans included laying off 750 headquarters staff and the recruitment of around 3,000 shop-floor staff to improve the quality of service and the firm's main problem: stock availability. The aim would be to increase sales revenue by £2.5 billion by the financial year ending March 2008. Another significant announcement was the halving of the dividend
Dividend
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be distributed to...
to increase funds available for price cuts and quality.
King hired Lawrence Christensen as supply chain director in 2004. Previously he was an expert in logistics at Safeway
Safeway (UK)
Safeway was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom. It started as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold off in 1987....
, but left following its takeover by Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
. Immediate supply chain improvements included the reactivation of two distribution centres. In 2006 Christensen commented on the four automated depots introduced by Davis, saying "not a single day went by without one, if not all of them, breaking down... The systems were flawed. They have to stop for four hours every day for maintenance. But because they were constantly breaking down you would be playing catch up. It was a vicious circle." Christensen said a fundamental mistake was to build four such depots at once, rather than building one which could be thoroughly tested before progressing with the others. At the time of the business review on 19 October 2004, referring to the availability problems, Justin King said "Lawrence hadn't seen anything that he hadn't seen before. He just hadn't seen them all in the same place at the same time". In 2007 Sainsbury's announced a further £12 million investment in its depots to keep pace with sales growth and the removal of the failed automated systems from its depots. In addition, it did a deal with IBM to upgrade its Electronic - Point of Sale systems as a result of increased sales.
Sainsbury's sold its American subsidiary, Shaw's
Shaw's Supermarkets
Shaw's, along with companion store Star Market, are wholly owned subsidiaries of Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based SuperValu. Together, Shaw's and Star Market comprise the third-largest grocery chain headquartered in New England; behind Stop & Shop and Hannaford, although Shaw’s is the largest grocery...
, to Albertsons in 2004. Also in 2004 Sainsbury's expanded its share of the convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
market through acquisitions. Bell's Stores, a 54 store chain based in north-east England was acquired in February 2004. Jackson's Stores
Jackson's Stores
Jacksons Stores Ltd, named after William Jackson, the man who founded it, was a British chain of 114 convenience stores in Yorkshire and the North Midlands that was founded in 1991 by the Hull-based William Jackson Food Group and sold to J Sainsbury plc in 2004, an acquisition which doubled that...
, a chain of 114 stores based in Yorkshire and the North Midlands, was purchased in August 2004. JB Beaumont, a chain of 6 stores in the East Midlands was acquired in November 2004. SL Shaw Ltd, which owned six stores was acquired on 28 April 2005 for £6 million.
Since the launch of King's recovery programme, the company has reported nineteen consecutive quarters of sales growth, most recently in October 2009. Early sales increases were credited to solving problems with the company's distribution system. More recent sales improvements have been put down to price cuts and the company's focus on fresh and healthy food.
Private equity takeover bid
On 2 February 2007, after months of speculation about a private equity bid, CVC Capital PartnersCVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners is one of the top five largest private equity firms globally with approximately US$46 billion in funds focused on management buyouts...
, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Blackstone Group
Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group L.P. is an American-based alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate, and credit and marketable alternative investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions ,...
announced that they were considering a bid for Sainsbury's. The consortium grew to include Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
and Texas Pacific Group
Texas Pacific Group
TPG Capital is one of the largest private equity investment firms globally, focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and leveraged recapitalization investments in distressed companies and turnaround situations. TPG also manages investment funds specializing in growth capital, venture capital,...
. On 6 March 2007, with a formal bid yet to be tabled, the Takeover Panel issued a bid deadline of 13 April.
On 4 April KKR left the consortium to focus on its bid for Alliance Boots
Alliance Boots
Alliance Boots GmbH is a leading international, pharmacy-led health and beauty group. It has two core business activities - pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing, and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution - and has a presence in more than 25 countries...
. On 5 April the consortium submitted an "indicative offer" of 562p a share to the company's board. After discussions between Sir Philip Hampton and the two largest Sainsbury family shareholders Lord Sainsbury of Turville and Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover the offer was rejected. On 9 April the indicative offer was raised to 582p a share, however this too was rejected. This meant the consortium could not satisfy its own preconditions for a bid, most importantly 75% shareholder support; the combined Sainsbury family holding at the time was 18%.
Lord Sainsbury of Turville, who then held 7.75% of Sainsbury's, stated that he could see no reason why the Sainsbury's board would even consider opening its books for due diligence for anything less than 600p per share. Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, with just under 3%, was more extreme than his cousin, and refused to sell at any price. He believed any offer at that stage of Sainsbury's recovery was likely to undervalue the business, and with private equity seeking high returns on their investments, saw no reason to sell, given that the current management, led by Justin King, could deliver the extra profit generated for the benefit of existing investors. He claimed the bid 'brought nothing to the business', and that high levels of debt would significantly weaken the company and its competitive position in the long-term, which would have an adverse effect on Sainsbury's stakeholders.
On 11 April the CVC-led consortium abandoned its offer, stating "it became clear the consortium would be unable to make a proposal that would result in a successful offer."
In May 2007 Sainsbury's identified five areas of growth: Growth of non-food ranges; opening of new convenience stores and growth of online home delivery and banking operations; Expansion of supermarket space through new stores and development of the company's "largely underdeveloped store portfolio"; and "active property management".
Delta Two takeover bid
On 25 April 2007 Delta Two, a Qatari investment company, bought a 14% stake in Sainsbury's causing its share price to rise 7.17%, which was then upped to 17.6%. Their interest in Sainsbury's is thought to centre on its property portfolio. They increased their stake to 25% in June 2007.On 18 July 2007 BBC News reported that Delta Two had tabled a conditional bid proposal.
Paul Taylor, the principal of Delta Two, flew David and John Sainsbury to Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
to reveal and discuss the potential bid which amounted to 600p per share.
The family had reservations about the price of the bid. Secondly, they were concerned about the proposed structure which involved splitting the business into an operating company and a highly-leveraged property company. Thirdly, they were concerned about adequacy of funding both for the bid and for the company's pension scheme.
On 5 November 2007 it was announced Delta Two had abandoned its takeover bid due to the "deterioration of credit markets
Credit crunch
A credit crunch is a reduction in the general availability of loans or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from the banks. A credit crunch generally involves a reduction in the availability of credit independent of a rise in official interest rates...
" and concerns about funding the company's pension scheme.
Recent developments
In January 2008 Sainsbury's brought its number of Northern Ireland supermarkets to 11 with the purchase of two Curley's Supermarkets in Dungannon and Belfast, which includes those stores' petrol stations and off licences.
In March 2009 Sainsbury's announced it was buying 24 stores from The Co-operative, 22 of which were Somerfield
Somerfield
Somerfield was a chain of small to medium sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company was taken over by the Co-operative Group on 2 March 2009 in a £1.57 billion deal, creating the UK's fifth largest food retailer. The name is currently being phased out and replaced by the...
stores and the remaining 2 were Co-op stores: these are part of their estate which The Co-operative were required to sell following the completion of the Somerfield
Somerfield
Somerfield was a chain of small to medium sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company was taken over by the Co-operative Group on 2 March 2009 in a £1.57 billion deal, creating the UK's fifth largest food retailer. The name is currently being phased out and replaced by the...
takeover.
A further 9 stores were purchased from The Co-operative in June 2009. These were concentrated in west Wales, the north of England and Scotland where Sainsbury's market share is low.
In November 2007, Sainsburys centralised their HR department, relocating to the 17th and 18th floors of Manchester's Arndale Centre to form a Shared Service Centre which was initially trialled to deal with Recruitment in Scotland and was later rolled out to the whole country.
July 2009 saw the HR Shared Service Centre in Manchester expand to include most HR Processes in their Colleague Administration Department and Occupational Health enquiries in a dedicated unit.
In May 2010 Justin King announced that Sainsbury's pledged to involve each of its 850 stores in the promotion of the Paralympics after the multimillion-pound deal with Locog to be the main sponsor of the London 2012 Paralympic games. The sum was not disclosed. Sainsbury’s will sell Paralympic merchandise and become involved in high-profile events such as the torch relay. It will be one of only two sponsors able to take advantage of the limited branding allowed within the Games. The promotional rights do not extend to the Olympics.
In September 2011 it was announced that the "Try Something New Today" slogan would be replaced with "Live Well For Less", this decision was made after a 18 month business review. The slogan will be phased in, and will be prominent on till receipts from 16th September.
Financial performance
Between 1990 and 2010, Sainsbury's turnover increased from £6.9 billion to £21.4 billion, with a small dip in 2005, a year in which parts of the business were restructured. Profits before and after tax have been turbulent, with most years showing a pre-tax profit of £500–700 million and a profit for the year between £300–500 million, with 2005 and 2006 showing much reduced figures. 2005 saw exceptional costs of £100 million, and in 2006 Sainsbury's incurred "one-off operating costs" of £152 million, including £63 million to terminate the IT outsourcing contract with AccentureAccenture
Accenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the largest consulting firm in the world and is a Fortune Global 500 company. As of September 2011, the company had more than 236,000 employees across...
. Earnings per share in years other than 1994, 2005 and 2006 fell in the range 14p–33p.
Current operations
Sainsbury's currently operates 872 hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores. This is split down as 537 supermarkets and 335 convenience stores. It also operates Sainsbury's BankSainsbury's Bank
Sainsbury's Bank, now trading as Sainsbury's Finance, is a 50:50 joint venture between J Sainsbury and Bank of Scotland . Sainsbury’s was the first major British supermarket to open a bank, commencing trading in February 1997...
, which sells financial services, and is a joint venture with Lloyds Banking Group; Sainsbury's Online internet shopping services; and has a property portfolio worth £8.6 billion (as of March 2007).
It is the third largest supermarket chain in the UK (since 2009), and places an emphasis on a higher quality grocery offering compared to its other large rivals.
According to Kantar Worldpanel rankings published in January 2008, Sainsbury's market share was 16.4% compared to Tesco's 31.5%, Asda's 16.7% and Morrison's 11.4%.
Subsidiary businesses of Sainsbury's include the following:
- Sainsbury's LocalSainsbury's LocalSainsbury’s Convenience Stores Ltd is a chain of 343 convenience stores operated by the UK's third largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's Local stores have different branding and fascia to the company's supermarkets.-History:In 1998, Sainsbury’s piloted its first Local store in...
convenience store chain by Sainsbury's - Sainsbury's Central mini-supermarkets by Sainsbury's, due to be phased out and be re-branded under the core Sainsbury's 'Main Mission' format
- Sainsbury's OnlineSainsbury's OnlineSainsbury's Online is an electronic commerce website operated by Sainsbury's, the UK's second largest supermarket chain. It offers a wide range of other products, including electronic goods, books and financial services....
Online shopping service from Sainsbury's - Sainsbury's Active KidsSainsbury's Active KidsSainsbury's Active Kids is a voucher scheme run by Sainsbury's. Schools can redeem vouchers for sports equipment. According to the Sainsbury's website, £34 Million has been spent on sports equipment for schools....
loyalty voucher scheme by Sainsbury's - Sainsbury's BankSainsbury's BankSainsbury's Bank, now trading as Sainsbury's Finance, is a 50:50 joint venture between J Sainsbury and Bank of Scotland . Sainsbury’s was the first major British supermarket to open a bank, commencing trading in February 1997...
Financial services from Sainsbury's and Lloyds Banking Group, established in February 1997
According to CACI
CACI
CACI International Inc is a professional services and information technology company headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. CACI is a member of the Fortune 1000 Largest Companies and the Russell 2000 index. The company has approximately 13,700 employees in over 120 offices in the U.S. and...
, as of 2006, Sainsbury's has market dominance in 8 postcode areas; TQ
TQ postcode area
The TQ postcode area, also known as the Torquay postcode area, is a group of postcode districts around Brixham, Buckfastleigh, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot, Paignton, Salcombe, South Brent, Teignmouth, Torquay and Totnes in England.-Coverage:...
(Torquay
Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
), SN
SN postcode area
The SN postcode area, also known as the Swindon postcode area, is a group of postcode districts around the Swindon Urban Area in England. It includes the town of Swindon itself, various places in the Borough of Swindon, much of North Wiltshire, including Calne, Chippenham, Corsham, Devizes,...
(Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
), GU (Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
), RH
RH postcode area
The RH postcode area, also known as the Redhill postcode area, is a group of twenty postcode districts in Surrey and Sussex, which are subdivisions of eight post towns....
(Redhill
Redhill, Surrey
Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Redhill and the adjacent town of Reigate form a single urban area.-History:...
), DA (Dartford
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....
), SE
SE postcode area
The SE postcode area, also known as the London SE postcode area, is the part of the London post town covering part of south east London, England...
(South East London
South East (London sub region)
The South East is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark. The sub region was established in 2008. The south east has a population of 1,300,000 and is the location of 500,000 jobs...
), EN (Enfield
London Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
) and WV
WV postcode area
The WV postcode area, also known as the Wolverhampton postcode area, is a group of postcode districts around Bilston, Bridgnorth, Willenhall and Wolverhampton in England.The Mail is sorted at the North West Midlands Mail Centre.-Coverage:...
(Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
).
It is particularly strong in London and the South-East, where it is based.
Sainsbury's has powerful positions within many UK cities; for example in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
there are 5 Sainsbury's supermarkets and 2 Sainsbury's Local stores, one of the supermarkets in Southampton is also one of its Flagship stores.
Store formats
At the end of its 2010/11 financial year Sainsbury's store portfolio was as follows.
| Format | Number | Total Space (sq ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 557 | |
| Convenience stores | 377 | |
| Total | 934 | 19,108,000 |
Traditionally, the majority of Sainsbury's stores were located in the areas around London and south-east England. The company acquired the Midlands-based Thoroughgood in the 1930s. Expansion since 1945 has given the company national reach, although the chain is not as represented in Scotland as other chains such as Tesco, and Morrisons (as Safeway dominated Scotland before being taken over by that company). This is partly due to the fact that Sainsbury's lost out to Tesco in the bidding war for William Low
William Low
William Low was a chain of supermarkets based in Dundee, Scotland, until it was bought out by Tesco for £257m in 1994....
in the 1990s.
Since 1999, Sainsbury's stores have received a new look. The old 'J Sainsbury' name, used in various forms since 1869, was scrapped and replaced by 'Sainsbury's'. Most stores were refurbished with dark blue walls, bright orange wall panels and grey shelving, as well as new checkouts. Individual counters also have different brightly coloured panels behind them. The new flagship store in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, South London, was the first to receive this new look, leading to the term 'Greenwich Blue', which is used to describe the signature colour of a typical store. This format was subsequently rolled out across the entire store estate.
Following the introduction of the 'Try something new today' slogan in 2005, stores were again refurbished with cream walls, and dark red and dark blue signage, along with cream coloured shelving and checkouts. New aubergine-coloured staff uniforms have been introduced to all stores.
Old external signage bearing the 'J Sainsbury' name has still been found in use as recently as summer 2011 in Swindon and at Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
Supermarkets and hypermarkets
The largest format of stores is internally branded 'Main Plus'. These are hypermarkets, which between 1977 and 2005 were branded as 'Sainsbury's SavaCentre'. However, as they got more integrated into the main chain, these stores were re-branded under the main Sainsbury's brand. This happened both in terms of back-office administration (the SavaCentre HQ In WokinghamWokingham
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about west of central London. It is about east-southeast of Reading and west of Bracknell. It spans an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403...
closed down in the 1990s) and in terms of store decoration, (which became identical to the Sainsbury's 'Main Mission' outlets). They occupy a wide range of both grocery and non-food, as a 50:50 split similar to Tesco Extra, and can therefore accommodate the weekly shop and more. These large stores have over 45000 sq ft (4,180.6 m²) of sales area, and original SavaCentres include Merton
London Borough of Merton
The London Borough of Merton is a borough in southwest London, England.The borough was formed under the London Government Act in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey...
, London Colney
London Colney
London Colney is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the north of London, at Junction 22 of the M25 motorway....
and Sydenham
Sydenham
Sydenham is an area and electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham; although some streets towards Crystal Palace Park, Forest Hill and Penge are outside the ward and in the London Borough of Bromley, and some streets off Sydenham Hill are in the London Borough of Southwark. Sydenham was in...
in London, and Calcot in Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. A large 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²) 'Main Plus' store has been confirmed for Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
, on the site of the old Co-op store which Tesco used while it was building its 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²) Extra store, currently the largest in the UK.
Both of the above formats trade simply as Sainsbury's, so you cannot tell which format you are in unless you know what to look for. Customers will notice a larger product range, particularly non-food in a 'Main Plus' store.
Sainsbury's now has many large stores, especially its Flagship Stores, such as Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
(Hedge End), London Colney (Hertfordshire), Greenwich (London) and Hayes (Middlesex).
On 29 September 2010 Sainsbury's opened one of its largest UK stores, an extension of their existing store in Crayford, Kent, which now boasts over 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²) of retail space and is their largest supermarket to be built in the UK. Just recently Bybrook in Ashford Kent, which opened on the 16th November 2011 now also boasts over 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²). In the same week they also opened their biggest store in Scotland at Darnley (90000 sq ft (8,361.3 m²)) and their biggest in Wales at Newport (76000 sq ft (7,060.6 m²)).
The newly refurbished Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
store opened on 24 November 2010 making it the UK's second largest Sainsbury's supermarket after Crayford at 98712 sq ft (9,170.6 m²).
The most northern Sainsbury's store is a 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²) supermarket in Nairn
Nairn
Nairn is a town and former burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness...
, which opened in August 2011. Helston
Helston
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...
, which opened in 2010, is the company's most south-westerly store.
Convenience stores
The 'Mixed Mission' format incorporates the Sainsbury's Central and Sainsbury's LocalSainsbury's Local
Sainsbury’s Convenience Stores Ltd is a chain of 343 convenience stores operated by the UK's third largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's Local stores have different branding and fascia to the company's supermarkets.-History:In 1998, Sainsbury’s piloted its first Local store in...
formats. Sainsbury's Central stores are between 7000 sq ft (650.3 m²) and 20000 sq ft (1,858.1 m²), which is a mini supermarket, and Sainsbury's Local stores are between 2000 sq ft (185.8 m²) and 6000 sq ft (557.4 m²) in size, carrying a top-up shop and grab-and-go offer. Sainsbury's Local stores have different decoration to the other two formats - 'Main Mission' and 'Main Plus'.
Sainsbury's Central has now been phased out, to be replaced by the Sainsbury's 'Main Mission' format. This was announced in 2004, but several former Sainsbury's Central stores, including Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Holborn
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
, Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road is a major road in central London, United Kingdom, running from St Giles Circus north to Euston Road, near the border of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, have yet to be refurbished and converted.
As well as its own Local and Central stores Sainsbury's has expanded through acquisition of existing chains (Bell's Stores, Jackson's Stores
Jackson's Stores
Jacksons Stores Ltd, named after William Jackson, the man who founded it, was a British chain of 114 convenience stores in Yorkshire and the North Midlands that was founded in 1991 by the Hull-based William Jackson Food Group and sold to J Sainsbury plc in 2004, an acquisition which doubled that...
, JB Beaumont, and SL Shaw Ltd).
Sainsbury's initially retained the strong Bells and Jacksons brands. For example, refurbished stores were called Sainsbury's at Bells or Sainsbury's at Jacksons. These were effectively Sainsbury's Local stores with a revised fascia, retaining some features of the former local chain. Unrefurbished stores retained the original brand and logo, but still offered Sainsbury's own brand products, pricing and some point of sale, without accepting Nectar cards. The old websites were also retained with some Sainsbury's branding.
This was an experimental format and on 4 May 2007 it was announced that all stores would be re branded as Sainsbury's Local, with the management teams of the smaller stores integrated into Sainsbury's own teams.
The most northern Sainsbury's Local is the Rosemount Place store in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, which opened on Friday 17 December 2010.
Marketing and branding
Since 2000 Jamie OliverJamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
has been the public face of Sainsbury's, appearing on television and radio advertisements and in-store promotional material. The deal earns him an estimated £1.2 million every year. In the first two years these advertisements are estimated to have given Sainsbury's an extra £1 billion of sales or £200 million gross profit. Jamie Oliver's deal with Sainsbury's will cease after Christmas 2011.
The Polyphonic Spree
The Polyphonic Spree is a choral symphonic pop rock band from Dallas, Texas that was formed in 2000 by Tim DeLaughter. The band's sound relies on a variety of vocal and instrumental color by featuring a choir, flute, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, percussion, piano, guitars, bass, drums,...
Light & Day. Over the years, Sainsbury's has used many slogans:
- "Quality perfect, Prices Lower" The slogan used on the shop-front of the Islington store in 1882.
- "Sainsbury's For Quality, Sainsbury's For Value"- Used in 1918 above the Drury Lane store.
- "Sainsbury's. Essentials for the Essentials."
- "Good Food Costs Less At Sainsbury's" — Used from the 1960s to the 1990s. Described by BBC News as "probably the best-known advertising slogan in retailing."
- "Sainsbury's - Everyone's Favourite Ingredient" — Used in a series of TV commercials in the 1990s which featured celebrities cooking Sainsbury's food.
- "Fresh food, fresh ideas. Eat healthy"-used in 1998
- "Value to shout about" — A 1998/1999 campaign fronted by John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
which was widely claimed to have been a major mistake. Sainsbury's said it actually depressed sales. However, the company had been losing sales for years because of the rise of Tesco. - "Making Life Taste Better" Introduced 1999 and used until May 2005.
- "Try something new today" Introduced in September 2005. Replaced on carrier bags, till receipts and all other corporate branding from this point. Remained main slogan until 14 September 2011.
- "Value where it matters" Used in advertising from late 2010, still in use as of May 2011.
- "Clothes You Can't Wait To Wear" Used in all new advertising for TU Clothing as part of advertising campaign from May 2011.
- "Live Well For Less". Introduced in SeptemberSeptemberSeptember is the 9th month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with a length of 30 days.September in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of March in the Northern Hemisphere....
2011. Replaced on till receipts from 16 September. TV Advertising campaign launched to help promote.
In 2008 they created a shopping incentive by showing that, when shopping at Sainsbury's, you can feed your family for only five pounds. The incentive, called "Feed your family for a fiver", with the flagship of "Meatballs 'n' More" has been advertised on British television channels, with Jamie Oliver cooking for a family.
Sainsbury's Active Kids
Sainsbury's Active Kids
Sainsbury's Active Kids is a voucher scheme run by Sainsbury's. Schools can redeem vouchers for sports equipment. According to the Sainsbury's website, £34 Million has been spent on sports equipment for schools....
is a loyalty voucher scheme by Sainsbury's.
Sainsbury's is a sponsor of the Paralympic Summer Games
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012. The Games will be held in London, United Kingdom after the city was successful with its bid for the Paralympics and Summer Olympic Games.Even though 2012 will be London's...
in London 2012, and it is the largest sponsorship signed in the history of the Games.
Product ranges
- Basics: an economy range of around 700 lines, mainly food but also including other areas such as toiletries and stationery. The Basics range uses minimal packaging with simple orange and white designs, to keep the price as low as possible. Sainsbury's Local stores sell none or very few of these lines. Equivalent to Tesco's Value, Asda's Smart Price and Morrison's Value.
- by Sainsbury's: All own brand food products (over 6,500 different lines) will be re-branded under this new "by Sainsbury's" brand, first introduced on frozen foods in late 2010, re-branding will be complete by January 2013.
- Taste the Difference (TTD): around 1100 premium food lines, including many processed foods such as ready made meals and premium bakery lines. TTD lines are similar to Asda's 'Extra Special', Tesco 'Finest' and Morrison's 'The Best'. The TTD range was relaunched in September 2010. When the range was relaunched in 2010 it features 1141 lines, with at least 75% of them being "new or improved".
- Different by Design (DBD): a smaller range of premium non-food lines, including flowers which were previously branded "Orlando Hamilton".
- Kids: these lines are for children. In 2006 these lines replaced the Blue Parrot Café range.
- Be Good To Yourself (BGTY): products with reduced calorific and/or fat content. The BGTY range was relaunched in January 2010.
- Freefrom: launched in February 2010, it has over 75 product lines. These products are all grouped together in one aisle of the store (except fresh and frozen lines). These products are suitable for those allergic to dairy products. (The majority of these are dairy and gluten/wheat free)
- Sainsbury's Organic (SO Organic): Around 500 lines of food/drink which is not derived from food stuffs treated with fertiliser or pesticides.
- Fair Trade: Over 100 fair tradeFair tradeFair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
products. - All bananas sold at Sainsbury's are now fair tradeFair tradeFair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
. The own-brand tea and coffee is being converted to Fairtrade over the next three years.
- TU - own brand clothing range, which replaced the Jeff Banks designed range, Jeff & Co.
- TU Home - a range of home products, such as lighting, rugs, and kitchen products. This range has now been rolled out to most stores stocking non-food ranges.
Online only recruitment
In November 2005, Sainsbury's became the first major British employer to introduce an "internet only" staff recruitment system. At the time, it was estimated that the move would save the company £4million a year in administration costs.This controversial move came at a time when only approximately half of the British adult population was estimated to have access to the internet, though by 2010 it was estimated that more than 80% of the adult population now had internet access.Several big retail names, including Marks & SpencerMarks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
, adopted online recruitment at around the same time but have set aside a telephone recruitment system as an alternative for prospective employees who do not have internet access.
Treatment of overseas workers
In a 2006 report the British anti-poverty charity War on WantWar on Want
War on Want is an anti-poverty charity based in London, England. It seeks to highlight the needs of poverty-stricken areas around the world and lobbies governments and international agencies to tackle problems as well as raising public awareness of the concerns of developing nations while...
revealed how Kenyan workers supplying Sainsbury's with cut flowers face appalling conditions and poverty wages.
Food safety prosecutions
Sainsbury's supermarkets have been prosecuted for selling food past its use by date on more than one occasion, however all staff are regularly trained on the importance of removal of out of date products.Sainsbury's Online
Sainsbury's operates an internet shopping service branded as "Sainsbury's Online". To use this service customers choose their grocery items online. Pickers then collect the required items which are delivered to customers from a company selected store by van. This is available to about 75% of the UK population. The service is run from larger stores which carry the full product range - over 100 stores operate an Online service.It was previously called 'Sainsbury's to You' and 'Sainsbury's entertain You', and prior to that it was called 'Sainsbury's Orderline'.
Sainsbury's Bank
In 1997 Sainsbury's Bank was established - a joint venture between J Sainsbury plc and the Bank of ScotlandBank of Scotland
The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to...
, now part of the Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Banking Group plc is a major British financial institution, formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. As at February 2010, HM Treasury held a 41% shareholding through UK Financial Investments Limited . The Group headquarters is located at 25 Gresham Street in London, with...
. Services offered include car, life, home, pet and travel insurance as well as health cover, loans, credit cards, savings accounts and ISA
Individual Savings Account
An Individual Savings Account is a financial product available to residents in the United Kingdom. It is designed for the purpose of investment and savings with a favourable tax status. Money is contributed from after tax income and not subjected to income tax or capital gains tax within a holding...
s.
As well as this, Sainsbury's Bank also offers a Travel Money service in stores, with 'Sainsbury's Travel Money' opening the 100th Travel Money bureau in its estate in May 2010 at the Hempstead Valley shopping centre store. These foreign exchange bureaus are operated in association with Travelex and offer a full bureau de change service instore.
Distribution
Sainsbury's supply chain operates from 13 regional distribution centres (RDCs), with two national distribution centres for slower moving goods, and two frozen food facilities. In addition, the depot at Tamworth tranships general merchandise to the RDCs. Each depot is given a "Depot Code".Regional distribution centres
- Basingstoke, HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
- Belfast, Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
- Dartford, Kent
- Emerald Park, Emerson's Green, BristolBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
- Greenford, MiddlesexMiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
- Hams Hall, Coleshill, West MidlandsWest Midlands (county)The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
- Haydock, St Helens, MerseysideMerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
- Langlands Park, East Kilbride, South LanarkshireSouth LanarkshireSouth Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....
- Northampton, NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
- Sherburn, North YorkshireNorth YorkshireNorth Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
- St Albans, HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
- Waltham Point, EssexEssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
Regional distribution centres - Slow Moving
- Rye Park, HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
- Stoke, StaffordshireStaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
Regional distribution centres - Frozen
- Elstree, HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
- Stone, StaffordshireStaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
National Distribution Centre - General Merchandise
- Tamworth, StaffordshireStaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
- Shire Park, Worcestershire
National Distribution Centre - Clothing
- Coventry, WarwickshireWarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
- Bedford, BedfordshireBedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
Sainsbury's also has a depot at Buntingford Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. This depot is usually not in operation; however Sainsbury's still own the site and continue to use the depot at busy times, particularly at Christmas. Buntingford, on the A10 road, is ready for use as an emergency depot for the rest of the year.
Originally Sainsbury's ran its own distribution network. However after an industrial dispute with their drivers in the 1970s, and with the intention of streamlining and consolidation, much of the distribution is now contracted out - to distribution specialists such as TDG, DHL, NFT & Wincanton.
See also
- Bells StoresBells StoresBells Stores Ltd was a chain of 54 convenience stores North East England. It was owned and run by the Bell family until February 2004, when it was acquired by Sainsbury's, the UK's third largest supermarket chain...
- Jacksons Stores
- List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom
- SainsburySainsburySainsbury may refer to:* Sainsbury * Sainsbury family, in British business and philanthropy- See also :* Sainsbury's, British business centered on supermarket chain* Harry Arthur Saintsbury , English actor...
- Sainsbury familySainsbury familyThe Sainsbury family founded Sainsbury's, the UK's third largest supermarket chain...
- Sainsbury's Active KidsSainsbury's Active KidsSainsbury's Active Kids is a voucher scheme run by Sainsbury's. Schools can redeem vouchers for sports equipment. According to the Sainsbury's website, £34 Million has been spent on sports equipment for schools....
- Sainsbury's BankSainsbury's BankSainsbury's Bank, now trading as Sainsbury's Finance, is a 50:50 joint venture between J Sainsbury and Bank of Scotland . Sainsbury’s was the first major British supermarket to open a bank, commencing trading in February 1997...
- Sainsbury's Freezer CentresSainsbury's Freezer CentresSainsbury's Freezer Centres was a former frozen food chain, operated by the then largest UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's....
- Sainsbury's LocalSainsbury's LocalSainsbury’s Convenience Stores Ltd is a chain of 343 convenience stores operated by the UK's third largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's Local stores have different branding and fascia to the company's supermarkets.-History:In 1998, Sainsbury’s piloted its first Local store in...
- Sainsbury's Savacentre