Supermarket War - Retail Wisdom 2

Author: Judy Bavington
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Building a warehouse-sized store in the UK was not an easy task. In 1950, only 12% of British households owned a car; compared to 59% in the US, shopping in the suburbs was impractical for most people, and urban planning at the time prohibited the construction of large stores in city centers. Critics believed that self-service shopping, with so much innovation, would never take off in the UK. One prominent retail expert stated, "Impossible, such large supermarkets would never be introduced to the British Empire." Benjamin also had doubts, but he still poured his pioneering enthusiasm into it. In 1950, Allen decided to transform the large Clutton store into a self-service shopping store. It covered a total of 3,300 square feet and was one of the largest investments at the time. Sainsbury was not the first retailer in the UK to open a self-service shopping store; immediately after the war, some Co-op food stores had converted some of their shops into self-service stores. However, the post-war national rationing system made it difficult for these stores to operate. Tesco also opened a self-service shopping store in the late 1940s, and United Foods had a few self-service stores early on. It wasn't until Sainsbury joined the industry and emphasized product design and quality that the revolution of self-service shopping truly began. After careful consideration, Sainsbury's Clutton store was the first true supermarket in the UK. It wasn't until 1950 that the strict food rationing system was abolished, allowing non-rationed food to be freely selected by customers. Allen discovered his specialty—innovation. The building occupied by Sainsbury's Clutton store dated back to 1896, and the store had been renovated under a century-old building license issued by the Ministry of Food. Trying out the experience of self-service shopping in such an old store and being willing to share the experience with others required enough courage from the retailer. The Sainsbury's Clutton store at 9–11 London Road was renovated. This meant saying goodbye to marble counter tops, mosaic floors, and patterned tiles. The cheese cut by steel wire according to order, the bacon sliced by machine, loose butter, and wood shavings scattered on the floor—these things together emitted a wonderful scent typical of traditional stores, and all of this was quietly disappearing from the UK's most bustling streets. The renovated store featured steel and plexiglass shelves filled with pre-packaged items. Cashier girls replaced the friendly counter staff in white shirts. Some counter staff were still retained, and at that time, assistant personnel patrolling the shelves and serving customers were much more numerous than today. Glaring fluorescent lights replaced the old-style lighting. The company's chief engineer, Ralph Hau, designed the first overhead-opening freezer, adding a touch of elegance to the store. At first, the unfriendly reactions from many people were expected, especially among the elderly. Once, when Allen stood at the store's entrance handing a metal-wire shopping basket to a customer, she threw the basket back at Allen. A competitor once told Allen that the British public would never like self-service shopping. "Their mistakes were so absurd," Allen later said, "Fortunately, we did exactly what they judged wrong." P36-37