New supermarket chain expands to 18 stores – and says more to come

Published on Tuesday 1 December 2009 20:39

HALDANES, the first mid-sized supermarket chain to open in Britain for 27 years, has acquired a further 13 outlets, including several in Scotland, taking its total across the country to 18.

The company, whose chief executive and managing director are Scots businessmen Graeme Hay and Gordon Emslie, will be fully operational by Easter. Chairman Arthur Harris said the company would be adding further stores as they become available.

Haldanes has acquired the stores following the Co-op's acquisition of Somerfield, which led the competition authorities to order a sale of 133 outlets.

The first supermarkets to trade under the Haldanes banner are in Prestonpans and Tranent in East Lothian and Carluke in Lanarkshire. A store in Broxburn, West Lothian, will open next week. Others are to open in Arbroath, Buckie, Crieff, Dunbar, Ellon, Forfar, Fraserburgh, Kelso, Larkhall, Shawlands, in Glasgow, and Wick.

Haldanes' first store south of the Border will be in Tattershall, Lincolnshire.

The opening of Haldanes fills a gap in the mid-size supermarket sector left by Tesco's acquisition of William Low in the mid-1990s.

The firm's headquarters is in Grantham, in Lincolnshire, with a regional base in Broxburn.

The 18 stores will employ 728 people, which will rise to about 750 when all the management positions have been filled.

Harris is a former managing director of Osprey Forecourts and has worked with Somerfield and Budgens, while Hay used to be operations director of wholesaler and retail chain Aberness.

Harris said: "Our growth plans are that Haldanes will have a chain of around 50 stores within four years, which would mean our staffing level rising to about 1,200."

The company plans to source more than a third of its stock from local suppliers. "We also believe that local knowledge is essential, and that is at the heart of our expertise," Harris said. "Although some of the established supermarket chains have tried to source locally, we believe that none has managed it effectively.

"We appreciate the role that shops like ours can play in local communities and it's our intention to give something back in return. We would be keen to support local events and, quite simply, to be an integral part of the community. In some ways, we wish to get back to the days when the local store was at the hub of community life."

In addition to local producers, Haldanes' main suppliers will be Nisa-Today's and Total Produce.

Harris said: "People have been asking us why we are taking what they see as such a bold move in the face of a recession.

"My answer is that this opportunity presented itself to us to acquire some excellent stores with some fantastic staff. It's as simple as that.

"But watch this space. Haldanes Stores will have some more good news in the new year. We are in preliminary discussions with other supermarket operators throughout Britain as potential acquisitions."