A symbol group is a form of franchise of convenience shops, found primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They do not own or operate shops, but act as suppliers to independent shops which then trade under a common banner.
Unlike other forms of franchise, they have expanded primarily by selling their services to existing shops, rather than by actively developing new outlets. Examples of such franchises are Spar, Londis, Nisa Local and Centra.
Symbol groups include:
Booker Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesco.
In 2014, the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) reported that the symbol group market is worth £15.5bn, with a 42% share of the UK convenience market through 17,080 shops. [5]
In the 2010s there was significant consolidation in the sector, as Tesco purchased Booker and the Co-operative Group purchased Nisa.
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