 | |
| Industry | Grocery, General merchandise |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1964 |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Fate | Stores converted to Safeway |
| Successor | Safeway (UK) |
| Headquarters | Hayes, Greater London |
| Parent | Safeway (UK) (Formerly Argyll Stores Ltd) |
Presto Foodmarkets was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in Great Britain, which first appeared in the early 1960s. While the fate of most of the chain's stores was conversion to Safeway, the final stores still trading as Presto were either closed or sold in 1998.
The company was established in 1967, opening stores the north of England and in Scotland in the early 1960s where its primary base remained but for some years Presto did have a nationwide presence. According to the Institute of Grocery Distribution the name derives from the town of Prestonpans, the location in which the first Presto store was opened. A store also opened around the same time in the Preston Grange Estate in Preston, Tyne and Wear. [1]
Presto was a division of Allied Suppliers, owned by Europe's third biggest food company Cavenham Foods, which also operated 500 Lipton supermarkets in England and Wales as well as the brands Galbraith and R & J Templeton with around 85 supermarkets in Scotland. Presto as a brand was greatly expanded under Cavenham's ownership and became the most significant brand, operating primarily large supermarkets and superstores throughout the country. [2] In 1979 it purchased the south east based chain Cater Brothers and incorporated them into the Presto brand. [3]
In 1982, Presto and its 136 stores, together with the rest of Allied Suppliers was sold to Argyll Foods for £101 million. [4] Argyll operated the Lo-cost supermarkets and Cordon Bleu Freezer Centres. [5]
In 1985, Argyll began a major re-organisation of its food store division. In Scotland and Northern England, the Hintons, Lipton, Galbraith and Templeton stores were either rebranded as Presto stores or closed. For some time, Hintons' direct marketing magazine "Going Shopping" continued with the Presto name including the headline "Presto - Our Heart's in the North". Liptons stores in the rest of England and Wales were either closed or converted to Presto (larger stores) or Lo-Cost (smaller stores). Argyll also launched a new slogan in 1985 moving from "for the best, best go to Presto" to "You'll be impressed in Presto". [6]
To complement the new slogan, a new logo was also launched featuring yellow, blue and red as well as, for a short time, a shopping basket. The new logo was used on all converted stores while original Presto stores retained the old logo on their exterior signage throughout their life. A number of new Presto Superstores were also opened featuring the new logo. In 1986, the conversion programme was complete and Argyll was set for expansion and new Presto regional distribution centres in Bristol, Wakefield, Bathgate and Welwyn Garden City were planned. [7]
In 1987, Argyll Foods purchased the UK operations of Safeway, which resulted in seven Presto stores (including Farnham, Morden and Chandlers Wharf, Stockton-on-Tees) being converted to Safeway on a trial basis. In 1988 a further 57 Presto stores (including the store at Sedgley, West Midlands, which had opened only a year earlier) had been converted to Safeway. [8]
While most (but not all) of the Presto stores were converted to Safeway during this period, the smaller stores located in Scotland and the north of England continued to trade as Presto. [9]
The first new Presto store to open since 1987 opened in Kirkwall (Orkney) in 1991. [10] This was shortly followed by another new store in Lockerbie. [11]
In March 1993, Argyll split its retail operations into two divisions, Safeway Stores, and Presto and Lo-Cost Stores. Super Marketing reported that Sir Alistair Grant stated in a memo, "The creation of Presto and Lo-Cost divisions is an important move which signifies our commitment to these important businesses and our wish that their direction and management should be given a strong specific focus." [12]
In 1993 Argyll also acquired four supermarkets from Norco in Scotland. [13] Three of these stores were converted to Presto (in Banchory, Ellon, and Westhill) and one larger store (Elgin) was converted to Safeway. [14]
More new stores opened over the next couple of years as well as replacements for existing Presto stores such as the new build Presto store at Springfield in Stokesley, North Yorkshire which replaced an older former Hintons location. [15]
In 1994, 150 smaller Presto stores, including many former Lipton's branches, were sold to convenience operator, Spar. [16]
In 1996 Argyll announced it was changing its name to Safeway and would be converting the remaining 110 Presto stores to Safeway. [17] While Presto branded products, and even carrier bags, were quickly replaced with Safeway, the conversion of the stores was not complete until mid-1998 when the final Presto (mainly smaller) stores which were not to be converted to Safeway were sold on to other retailers including Spar. [9]
Safeway Limited is a British groceries brand, and former chain of supermarkets and convenience shops. The British Safeway was founded in 1962 by the American Safeway Inc., before being sold to Argyll Foods in 1987. It was later listed on the London Stock Exchange. It was purchased by Morrisons in March 2004. Most of its 479 shops were rebranded as Morrisons, with others being sold. Safeway-branded shops disappeared from the United Kingdom on 24 November 2005.
Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, and one in Gibraltar. The company is headquartered in Bradford, England.
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Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops and fuel centers. It is a subsidiary of Albertsons after being acquired by private equity investors led by Cerberus Capital Management in January 2015. Safeway's primary base of operations is in the Western United States with some stores located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern Seaboard. The subsidiary is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
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William Low & Co plc, popularly referred to as Willie Low's and latterly marketed as Wm Low, was a chain of supermarkets headquartered in Dundee, Scotland. Initially founded in 1868, Low's had branches throughout Scotland, North East England, Cumbria and Yorkshire. As a group, it was smaller than most of its competitors and often served small towns, although it still had several large hypermarkets. Low's use to trade on their Scottishness as a unique selling point in Scotland. At one stage, the company also ran a chain of frozen food stores known as Lowfreeze. Lowfreeze was sold in 1987 to Bejam.
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, known as Stop & Shop, is a regional chain of supermarkets located in the northeastern United States. From its beginnings in 1892 as a small grocery store, it has grown to include 406 stores chain-wide.
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Woolworths Supermarkets is an Australian chain of supermarkets and grocery stores owned by Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, Woolworths today is Australia's biggest supermarket chain with a market share of 33% as of 2019.
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Argyll Foods plc was the fourth biggest supermarket operator in the United Kingdom, through its acquisitions of a number of smaller supermarkets. In 1987 the company acquired Safeway Inc.'s UK subsidiary and in 1996 it changed its name to Safeway plc.
Dominick's was a Chicago-area grocery store chain and subsidiary of Safeway Inc. Dominick's distribution center was located in Northlake, Illinois, while its management offices were located in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Food For Less was an Australian discount supermarket chain owned by Woolworths Limited. It was originally established in Queensland, where a discount 'food barn' chain operating as "Jack the Slasher" was acquired by Safeway USA and when Woolworths took over Safeway in 1990. The stores were positioned as low-cost locations that sold dry groceries and frozen perishables.
Omni Superstore was a chain of supermarkets in the Chicago area and was owned by Dominick's. In 1997, Dominick's phased out Omni and converted the stores into Dominick's because the concept was not generating enough revenue compared to other Dominick's stores.
Australian Safeway Pty Ltd was a chain of supermarkets in Australia from 1963 to 2017. The supermarkets were initially part of Safeway Inc. but were absorbed by Woolworths Limited in 1985. On 22 August 2008, Woolworths Limited announced it would discontinue the Safeway name, and former Safeway stores were rebranded to Woolworths or closed. The final Safeway store to be rebranded was Wodonga, occurring on 6 June 2017.
Home and Colonial Stores was once one of the United Kingdom's largest retail chains. Its formation of a vast chain of retail stores in the late 1920s is seen as the first step in the development of a UK food retail market dominated by a small number of food multiples.
Safeway is a Canadian supermarket chain of 135 full service supermarket stores mostly operating in the western provinces in Canada. It was established in 1929 as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold in 2013 to Canada's second-largest supermarket chain, Sobeys, a division of the conglomerate Empire Company. Independent since 2013 from the American company it continues to use the same Safeway name and logo as of May 2023.
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