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Current Booths Supermarket Logo used as of 2005

Booths is a chain of supermarkets in Northern England. Most of its branches are located in Lancashire but there are also branches in Cheshire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. It competes on quality similar to Marks & Spencer and Waitrose as opposed to value. It has been developed on the motto "to sell the best quality goods in shops staffed by first class assistants". Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Image File history File links Booths. ... Image File history File links Booths. ... Supermarket produce section A supermarket is a store that sells a wide variety of goods including food and alcohol, medicine, clothes, and other household products that are consumed regularly. ... Northern England, The North or North of England is a rather ill-defined term, with no universally accepted definition. ... Lancashire is a county in North West England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... The Cheshire Plain - photo taken adjacent to Beeston Castle The Cheshire Plain - photo taken towards Merseyside The Cheshire Plain panorama - photo taken from Mid-Cheshire Ridge Cattle farming in the county Black-and-white timbered buildings on Nantwich High Street Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a... Cumbria is a county in the North West region of England. ... North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county, located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England in the United Kingdom, and a ceremonial county in that region and also partly in North East England. ... West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. ... Marks & Spencer plc (known also as M&S, Your M&S and sometimes colloquially as Marks and Sparks, Marks or Markss) is a British retailer, with several branches outside of the UK. It is one of the most widely recognised chain stores in the UK and is the largest... Waitrose is a British supermarket chain owned by the John Lewis Partnership, with 184 branches (November 2006). ...

In 2006 Booths achieved an impressive second place in the list of the World’s Greatest Food Retailers, beating all its British competitors including Harrods, Fortnum and Masons and Waitrose. The retailer also improved on last year’s third place. The panel of top designers, architects, analysts, journalists, suppliers and retailers was brought together by national trade publication, The Grocer, and asked to rank their favourite food retailers from anywhere in the world. They were impressed by the quality of the company’s offer, its focus on local sourcing and head for innovation. Simon Bell, retail director of foodservice firm Leathams, voted Booths’ Chorley store first above Selfridges in London. He applauds its excellent customer service, knowledge of products and friendly staff.^[1]

E.H. Booth & Co. Ltd was founded in June 1847 by Edwin Henry Booth, and has remained owned by the Booth family ever since. From humble beginnings as a tea shop in Blackpool, Booths grew into the first chain of supermarkets in the area, and even though it has now been eclipsed by giants such as Tesco and Sainsbury's, it still boasts over 26 stores across the region. June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with a length of 30 days. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... It has been suggested that South Shore, Blackpool be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Tesco (disambiguation). ... J Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsburys, which is a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. ...

In June 2005 the current Chairman, Edwin J Booth, was awarded the BITC (Business in the Community) Prince of Wales Ambassador Award for North West England. This is given to individuals whose leadership and commitment to responsible business practice and the actions they have taken personally have created a positive impact both inside their company and on the wider society. The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor; born Windsor, 14 November 1948), is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ...

A new head office was custom built and opened in early 2006. It is in Ribbleton near Preston and boasts a wealth of environmentally friendly featues, such as using rain water to flush the toilets.

Current locations

As of June 2006, the companies 26 stores are spread over the following locations:

Cheshire

• Knutsford

Statistics Population: 19,607 (2001) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SJ753782 Administration District: Macclesfield Shire county: Cheshire Region: North West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Cheshire Historic county: Lancashire Services Police force: Cheshire Fire and rescue: Cheshire Ambulance: North West Post office and telephone...

Cumbria

• Kendal , home of the new 'Artisan' department / store.
• Keswick
• Kirkby Lonsdale
• Ulverston
• Windermere

Kendal is a small town in Cumbria, England. ... The Moot Hall in the centre of Keswick. ... Kirkby Lonsdale is a town in Cumbria, UK, on the River Lune. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Location within the British Isles. ...

Lancashire

• Ansdell
• Carnforth
• Chorley
• Clitheroe
• Fulwood, Preston:The Fulwood branch is sited opposite the Royal Preston Hospital.
• Garstang
• Lane Ends, Preston
• Longridge
• Longton, Lancashire Longton, Preston:The current Longton store relocated a few hundred yards down the road from its original site at the junction of Liverpool Road and Franklands, and now occupies the site of the former Mansion House in the village.
• Lytham There is currently a large store bieng built on the edge of the town centre (Station Road) to replace the small store in the town centre.
• Normoss, Blackpool
• Penwortham, Preston:There were, until recently, two Booth's stores in Penwortham, one on Liverpool Road, and a larger store on Millbrook Way. The Liverpool Road store has since closed and is currently occupied by a branch of rival chain Somerfield.
• Poulton
• Scotforth
• South Shore, Blackpool
• St. Annes
• Torrisholme, Morecambe

Statistics Population: Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SD342278 Administration District: Fylde Shire county: Lancashire Region: North West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Lancashire Historic county: Lancashire Services Police force: Lancashire Constabulary Fire and rescue: Ambulance: North West Post office and telephone Post town: LYTHAM... Carnforth is a small town in the north of Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay, by the River Keer. ... Chorley Library Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, England, south of Preston and at the foot of the West Pennine Moors. ... Statistics Population: 15,000 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SD742417 Administration District: Ribble Valley Shire county: Lancashire Region: North West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Lancashire Historic county: Lancashire Services Police force: Lancashire Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: North West Post office and telephone... Fulwood is a suburb in the city of Preston in Lancashire, England, about two miles north of the city centre. ... Garstang is a small town in the county of Lancashire in the North of England, located within the borough of Wyre. ... Preston is a city and local government district in North West England. ... Longridge is a small town in the borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England, at the end of Longridge Fell, a long ridge above the River Ribble and is situated several miles north-east of the city of Preston. ... Lytham St Annes is a town in the Fylde district of Lancashire, England. ... It has been suggested that South Shore, Blackpool be merged into this article or section. ... Penwortham is a small town on the South side of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston in Lancashire (UK). ... Somerfield is a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. ... Poulton could be Poulton, Cheshire Poulton, Gloucestershire Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire This article consisting of geographical locations is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Scotforth is a suburb in the British town of Lancaster, Lancashire. ... South Shore is an area of Blackpool which has a large local comunity and also many tourist attractions. ... Lytham St Annes is a conurbation in the Fylde district of Lancashire, England. ... Torrisholme is a village near Morecambe, Lancashire, on the North West coast of England. ... Morecambe is a resort town in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England. ...

North Yorkshire

• Settle

Statistics Population: 2420 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SD817639 Administration District: Craven Shire county: North Yorkshire Region: Yorkshire and the Humber Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: North Yorkshire Historic county: West Riding Services Police force: North Yorkshire Police Ambulance: Yorkshire Post office and telephone Post...

West Yorkshire

• Ilkley

Locations for future stores are believed to include Hesketh Bank or Tarleton, near Southport. Ilkley is a town in the metropolitan borough of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. ...

Artisan

This is a recent development by Booths, dubbed 'Booths Plus' by some staff, intented to cater to a very up-market clientele. Its range is centered upon gourmet local produce from small producers, commendably.

Rebranding

Booths is currently (November 2006) in the process of re-branding the company. This has been on-going for some time, and involves replacing the former 'Booths the grocer' image, based on green and orange; with a newer look, based upon wine, lavender, olive and saffron colours.

This has included a new store logo, new uniforms, new look packaging on products to encorporate the new colours.

Criticism

Some employees would like to point out that, in contrast to the 'traditional and caring' image the company has sought to promote, the reality can be different when seen from the inside. Some current issues of contention include:

• Strict 'anti-disclosure' rules, causing many staff to be afraid of 'whistle-blowing' on dubious actions. Theoretically, even adding this criticism sub-section would be considered 'Gross Misconduct' and grounds for instant dismissal.
• The standard pay rate is currently (November 2006) just 5p/hour above national minimum wage, below the industry average, and it is difficult for most staff to qualify for the rare enhanced rates. There is no enhanced rate for cashiers as in other chains.
• Away from the 'shop floor'; maintenance, health & safety take a much lower priority than in areas visible to the public (However, recent changes to internal budget & funding policy have slightly improved matters by decreasing management incentives to minimise spending on branches).
• Booths imposes many unilateral changes to working conditions; a recent alteration reduced the thresholds at which sickness becomes grounds for dismissal, but without consultation, agreement, compensation, or justification.
• The new uniforms, introduced as part of the rebranding, are being phased in site-by-site; while the old uniform has been made unavailable. This means staff in branches not yet re-branded are experiencing even worse uniform shortages than usual.

References

1. ^ http://www.booths-supermarkets.co.uk/news.html

See also

• Supermarkets in the United Kingdom

The UK supermarket sector is dominated by Tesco, ASDA, Morrisons, and Sainsburys, which are the only chains which operate full-scale superstores of 40,000 square feet (3,700 m²) or more. ...

External links

• Booths Supermarkets Homepage
• Everywine.co.uk : Internet wine service operated by Booths
• An anonymous weblog run by a disgruntled employee

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