* You are viewing Posts Tagged ‘Safeway’

The South Shields shop that’s been a Woolworths… and nearly every supermarket name too

Graham Soult February 26, 2012 Co-operatives, Retail History, Supermarkets, Woolworths 9 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Former Woolworths (now Sainsbury's), Prince Edward Road, South Shields (21 Feb 2012). Photograph by Graham Soult

Former Woolworths (now Sainsbury's), Prince Edward Road, South Shields (21 Feb 2012)

When I recently got hold of a copy of the 1972 Woolworths store list, I was surprised to see a reference to a North East store that I hadn’t previously known about, at 335-345 Prince Edward Road in South Shields – an apparent addition to the … Continue Reading

Newcastle’s Co-op food hall to ‘cease trading’ on 31 December

Graham Soult December 03, 2011 Co-operatives, Property, Regeneration, Retail History, Supermarkets 7 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Closing-down poster at Newgate Street Co-op, Newcastle (2 Dec 2011). Photograph by Graham Soult

Closing-down poster at Newgate Street Co-op, Newcastle (2 Dec 2011)

Newcastle city centre’s Co-op supermarket is to close down this month, bringing to an end nearly a century-and-a-half of Co-operative presence in Newgate Street. Posters in the windows and instore – which I spotted while passing by yesterday – reveal that the store will ‘cease trading as a Co-operative’ at 6pm on New Year’s Eve (31 … Continue Reading

Co-op returns to Birtley with purchase of Netto store

Graham Soult June 23, 2011 Co-operatives, Property, Supermarkets 10 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Netto, Birtley (24 Jan 2011). Photograph by Graham Soult

Netto, Birtley (24 Jan 2011)

The Co-operative Group has announced today that it is to acquire the Netto store in Birtley, Gateshead – one of the six remaining sites that Asda is required to divest following … Continue Reading

Store closures loom as indie grocer Haldanes calls in administrators

Graham Soult June 09, 2011 Independent Stores, Supermarkets 11 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Haldanes logo

Haldanes logo

The independent supermarket chain Haldanes looks set to become the latest retail casualty, after filing for an administration order today.

In a statement this afternoon, Arthur Harris, the CEO of Haldanes Stores Ltd and Ruston Retail, said:

“Following advice from our lawyers and an insolvency practitioner, we have made the decision to seek an administration order for Haldanes Stores Limited and Ruston Retail Limited … Continue Reading

From no sprouts to no claims – an unusual use for an old Safeway

Graham Soult June 08, 2011 Property, Supermarkets 2 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Former Safeway, Byker (6 Jun 2011). Photograph by Graham Soult

Former Safeway, Byker (6 Jun 2011)

It’s amazing how a throwaway remark can prompt an entire discussion on something unexpected…

In my January post about the divvying up of Netto’s North East store estate following the chain’s acquisition by Asda, I made passing reference to Birtley’s former Safeway – a store … Continue Reading

Asda’s sale of surplus Netto stores: who gets what in the North East

Graham Soult January 13, 2011 Supermarkets 74 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Netto store in Gateshead. Photograph by Graham Soult

Netto store in Gateshead

As I blogged earlier, Asda’s acquisition of Netto’s UK business moved a step closer yesterday, with the news that it has reached agreement to sell most of those Netto stores that overlap with existing Asda sites.

Back in May, when Dansk Supermarked A/S … Continue Reading

HobbyCraft shines, Borders stumbles

Graham Soult November 26, 2009 Booksellers, Property, Retail Parks No Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Borders at Retail World, Gateshead. Photograph courtesy of Land Securities

Borders at Retail World, Gateshead. Photograph courtesy of Land Securities

Mixed fortunes in the news today for two specialist retailers that both have a presence at Team Valley Retail World in Gateshead – HobbyCraft and Borders.

Privately-owned HobbyCraft, which describes itself as “the UK’s largest chain of dedicated arts and crafts superstores”, has reported a … Continue Reading

M&S’s gain is Morrisons’ loss

Graham Soult November 18, 2009 Advertising, Fashion Stores, Supermarkets No Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

M&S store

M&S store

The news that the current boss of Morrisons, Marc Bolland, is to become the new Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer brings to an end months of speculation in the retail industry about who would – and should – succeed Sir Stuart Rose. Though Bolland’s name had been mentioned as a possible candidate, the announcement comes as something of a surprise, with retail commentators … Continue Reading

Durham – a rare blip in the Waitrose success story

Graham Soult October 07, 2009 Market Towns, Property, Retail History, Supermarkets 5 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Waitrose fascia

Waitrose fascia

In recent weeks, hardly a day has gone by without some good news involving Waitrose – if it isn’t stellar sales figures, it’s been news about stocking 100% British own-brand dairy products, snapping up Duchy Originals, … Continue Reading