 Somerfield is a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. Operating as Somerfield Stores Ltd, the company is the fifth largest food retailer in the United Kingdom as of 2006, according to TNS Superpanel. It is part of Somerfield Ltd, formerly Somerfield plc, which also included the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores until February 2006. It is based in Bristol. This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ...
Drawing of a self-service store. ...
TNS Superpanel is a division of the United Kingdom based global market information group Taylor Nelson Sofres, which analyses the British grocery sector. ...
Kwik Save is a discount supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. ...
February 2006 : ↠- January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Governor of West Virginia Joe Manchin asks for a halt in coal mining following two more coal mining deaths in the state that saw fourteen people die in coal mining disasters in January. ...
Overview Somerfield is the fifth largest food retailer in the UK with 1,187 stores (as of August 2006), following the conversion of 102 former Kwik Save stores retained after the sale of the Kwik Save unit. August 2006 is the eighth month of that year, and has yet to occur. ...
917 of these stores trade as 'Somerfield' (including the 102 former Kwik Save branches), 102 as 'Somerfield Essentials' (including those located on petrol forecourts), 139 stores trade on Texaco or Jet sites, whilst 29 trade under the 'Mace' brand, part of Aberness Limited, acquired in March 2004. Texaco is the name of an American oil company that was merged into Chevron Corporation in 2001. ...
Look up jet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
In 2005, Somerfield re-branded half of Kwik Save's Scottish stores under its own name and closed the remainder, thus removing the brand from the marketplace north of the border. Some other stores such as Buxton and Balham have been sold to Waitrose and other retailers. Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1. ...
Waitrose is a British supermarket chain owned by the John Lewis Partnership, with 183 branches (October 2006). ...
Somerfield's self-declared niche is to "be the leading small format retailer in the UK". For the 52 weeks ended 30 April 2005 Somerfield Group's turnover was £4.676 billion. Profit was £60.9 million before tax, and due to a tax credit it was £62.9 million after tax. These profits were up about a third on the previous year; the group has had very narrow profit margins for a number of years.
The four larger retailers are Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, and they are the only ones that operate full size superstores. All of the others are niche players of one kind or another. Tesco plc is a United Kingdom-based international supermarket chain. ...
ASDA, West Bridgford, Nottingham This article is about a supermarket chain. ...
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. ...
Morrisons store in Morecambe, Lancashire. ...
History Somerfield's origins are traced back to 1875 when a small family grocery store was opened in Bristol by J H Mills. By 1900 it had grown to a chain of 12 stores. In 1950 the fourteen stores were renamed "Gateway" when Bristol finance house Tyndall took a majority shareholding. The new name was chosen due to the company's home town being the 'gateway to the West Country'. In 1977 Gateway was taken over by Linfood Holdings Group and combined with Linfood's 'Frank Dee' supermarket chain to create a group with over 100 stores, with the Frank Dee stores being rebranded as "Gateway" - a move which was completed by 1983 when the group was renamed "The Dee Corporation". 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
Bristol (IPA: ) is a city, unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, 115 miles (185 km) west of London and located at With a population of 400,000, and metropolitan area of 550,000, it is Englands sixth, and the United Kingdoms ninth, most populous city...
1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ...
1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The West Country is an informal area of southwestern England, roughly corresponding to the administrative region South West England. ...
For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...
1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Between 1983 and 1987 a number of acquisitions and mergers were made, adding Keymarkets, Lennons, International Stores, Fine Fare and the UK operations of Carrefour to the group - all rebranded under the Gateway name. In 1988 the group was renamed "The Gateway Corporation" and a year later, was bought out by Isoceles plc, a private consortium. Consequently many of the larger superstores were sold to ASDA. In the 1990s, after falling sales and a poor reputation, the Gateway Corporation almost collapsed. 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Fine Fare was the name of a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom until the mid-1980s. ...
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1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
ASDA, West Bridgford, Nottingham This article is about a supermarket chain. ...
A decision was taken to rebrand the company's operations as Somerfield after a successful pilot scheme in 1990 and the company then built its success upon the new brand. A small number of stores were also relaunched under a new Food Giant discount brand, with the first store opening in 1991. Somerfield owned 24-7, the failed home delivery business. The name of the holding company Isoceles plc was changed to Somerfield plc around this time. This article is about the year. ...
1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Kwik Save takeover In 1998 the company took over the rival Kwik Save chain, with the remaining Food Giant stores being rebranded under that name. Kwik Save had over-expanded with a badly focused portfolio of stores, many in poorer areas, and the company was in a worse state than Somerfield's management had realised. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
Kwik Save is a discount supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. ...
The original plan was to transfer all Kwik Save stores to the Somerfield fascia, but it quickly became clear that many outlets were not suitable for conversion, either due to size or location. Also, the downmarket wooden shelving and poor quality fittings used by Kwik Save meant that every conversion required a full refurbishment of the store - Simply changing the signage and uniforms would have risked dragging the carefully developed Somerfield brand downmarket. Instead, the larger Kwik Save stores were converted, some were sold or closed and the chain became a trading division of Somerfield Stores Ltd, sharing its supply chain and back office systems with Somerfield. For some years, the own-brand products in Kwik Save stores were Somerfield, although this policy was reversed once it was decided to keep the brand. Downmarket products are goods targeted at lower-income consumers. ...
Sale of Superstores The core chain began to divest its superstore portfolio in 1999 (including many of the re-branded Food Giant stores) and now focuses on small to medium sized stores on high streets and in local shopping centres. 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Old Farts by the Sometimes-United Nations. ...
New formats Somerfield has changed its logo from a rectangular shape to a more contemporary design and opened a number of store formats, such as Somerfield 'Essentials' and Somerfield 'Market Fresh'. It has further changed its brand image by introducing newer own-brand lines such as "So Good", "Good intentions", and a new advertising strapline: "giving you what you want". A low-price own brand label called 'Makes Sense' has also been introduced to compete with other low cost own brand products such as Tesco Value.
In August 2006, around 50 in-store delicatessen counters were closed as they had not been profitable. The word delicatessen designates a type of food store. ...
Safeway Compact takeover In October 2004, Somerfield acquired 114 Safeway Compact stores from Morrisons, which were subsequently re-branded under the Somerfield name. This deal was referred to the Competition Commission, which announced on July 27, 2005 that 14 of the stores might need to be divested in order to satisfy concerns over localised monopolies. Safeway was a chain of 479 supermarkets and convenience stores in the UK that is now part of Wm Morrison Supermarkets. ...
Morrisons store in Morecambe, Lancashire. ...
The Competition Commission is an independent body responsible for investigating mergers, market shares and conditions and the regulation of UK companies. ...
July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ...
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
After completing its investigation, the Commission instructed Somerfield to sell 12 stores. In September 2005, Somerfield announced its intention to appeal against the decision, a process delayed by a takeover bid for the chain (see below). The Competition Appeal Tribunal upheld the Commission's decision in February 2006: [1]. Somerfield therefore had to proceed with sale of the 12 stores. However, the sale of Kwik Save in February 2006 is likely to have removed the potential clashes between some of the offending stores. Kwik Save is a discount supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. ...
February 2006 : ↠- January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Governor of West Virginia Joe Manchin asks for a halt in coal mining following two more coal mining deaths in the state that saw fourteen people die in coal mining disasters in January. ...
Somerfield takeover Somerfield was subject to takeover speculation from 2003 onwards, a substantial part of the group's appeal to bidders lying in the value of its property portfolio rather than its trading operations, as this offered the potential to leverage its financing after a takeover.
Retail entrepreneurs John Lovering and Bob Mackenzie made two failed bids in 2003. In 2005, Icelandic venture capital group Baugur made an approach, while United Co-operatives and London & Regional Properties also expressed an interest, but both groups dropped out of the running. In October 2005 Somerfield's board accepted a bid of around £1.1 billion from a consortium of buyers. This was subject to shareholder approval, but was not referred to the Competition Commission as the buyer was not another UK retailer. Venture capital is a general term to describe financing for startup and early stage businesses as well as businesses in turn around situations. ...
Baugur Group is an Icelandic investment company. ...
United Co-operatives, or simply United Co-op, is the largest regional consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. ...
The Competition Commission is an independent body responsible for investigating mergers, market shares and conditions and the regulation of UK companies. ...
Somerfield plc was acquired by the consortium consisting of Apax Partners Worldwide LLP, Barclays Capital and the Tchenguiz Family Trust with effect from 21 December 2005, when the name of the group changed to Somerfield Ltd. Apax Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm which operates in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, and Israel. ...
The new owners have also made dramatic changes to operations at Somerfield. The aim was to simplify the business and attract new customers. The first move was the abrupt end of the SaverCard scheme in May 2006 with promotional deals becoming available to all customers. To compensate, prices were slashed on "The Core 500" - the 500 best-selling product lines - often significantly undercutting other supermarkets. Bold new point-of-sale has been introduced to make promotions and price-cuts more visible to customers. There is also a significant range review in progress which will see simplification and the removal of poorly-selling lines. Somerfield's three own-label brands have also been overhauled; the budget "Makes Sense" range has become "Simply Value", the healthy-choice "Good Intentions" range has become "Healthy Choice", and the premium "So Good" range has become "Best Ever".
Kwik Save sale After the takeover, it was reported that the new owners found the Kwik Save chain was losing £40m per year, effectively cancelling out around 40% of the profits generated by the Somerfield division. As a result, it speeded up the conversion of stores from Kwik Save to Somerfield. On February 27, 2006, Somerfield Stores Ltd sold the Kwik Save brand and 171 stores to BTTF, an investment vehicle headed by Paul Niklas, for an undisclosed sum[2]. Somerfield re-branded the 102 Kwik Save sites it has retained under its own name and a further 77 stores were sold to other retailers, thought to include Netto and Aldi. Somerfield is now focused on a single brand. Kwik Save is a discount supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. ...
February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Back to the Future is an American adventure-comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released in 1985. ...
A collective investment scheme is a way of investing money with other people to participate in a wider range of investments than may be feasible for an individual investor and to share the costs of doing so. ...
Netto logo A Netto store in Copenhagen Netto is a Danish based chain of discount supermarkets. ...
// ALDI is an international discount supermarket chain based in Germany. ...
Subsequent to the initial sale, a further 19 Kwik Save stores were acquired by BTTF, including some of those included in the Competition Commission investigation ruling into the Safeway Compact takeover. The Competition Commission is an independent body responsible for investigating mergers, market shares and conditions and the regulation of UK companies. ...
Safeway was a chain of 479 supermarkets and convenience stores in the UK that is now part of Wm Morrison Supermarkets. ...
Store rationalisation In August 2006 a wave of store closures were announced as Somerfield's new owners continued their restructuring activity. Some of these were core Somerfield stores that were performing poorly, but most were converted Kwik Save sites that hadn't proved successful under the new fascia. A number were among 102 stores that were selected for conversion following the Kwik Save sale in February 2006, although most had only undergone a partial conversion with temporary signage and point of sale. August 2006 is the eighth month of that year, and has yet to occur. ...
Some stores have been sold to other groups, including Kwik Save and Sainsbury's, which has bought 12 with an average size of 11,000 sq ft, while others are being closed completely. This is being done on a local, store by store basis and there has been no official announcement of the process as an integrated restructuring programme.
With unprofitable branches closed or sold, attention has been turned to revitalising the remaining store estate. Changes are being rolled out across the group to improve layouts and refine product ranges, making the stores more customer friendly. As part of these changes, the Somerfield trading formats, such as Essentials and Market Fresh, will be dropped, and all stores rebranded simply as Somerfield.
In October 2006, it was revealed that 40 Somerfield stores, including many converted Kwik Save branches, are to be sold to Kwik Save. [3].
In November 2006 the company also announced plans to sell a further 11 stores to M&S to trade under the M&S Simply Food brand.
Criticisms Somerfield has often been criticised for neglecting its stores, allowing them to become run-down. While the refurbished, new format stores are generally attractive and on a par with those of rivals, many stores have not been refurbished since they were built. According to this, Somerfield no longer sell some popular products due to poor demand. The company has also been alleged to have"given up on ethics" after withdrawing from a voluntary ethical trading agreement, although this has been strenuously denied.
Staffing policy Since being taken over Somerfield has made moves to change its 16 different sets of terms and conditions of employment (a result of successive takeovers) to just one. As well as new terms and conditions, staffing structures are also set to be optimised to remove unnecessary positions and create new ones where required. The broad aim is to cull excess supervisory and management roles to create room within budgets for more store staff.
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