Former type Private Fate Closed Defunct 14 June 2011 | Industry Retail Founded 19 November 2009 | |
Headquarters Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, UK | ||
Haldanes was a chain of mid-sized supermarkets that operated in the United Kingdom. Established in 2009, the company was the first mid-sized supermarket chain to start business in the United Kingdom in 27 years, having acquired stores from the Co-operative group and Asda, which were obliged to offload a number of stores following their acquisitions of Somerfield and Netto respectively, the latter branded as UGO stores.
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The chain was keen to promote their intentions towards supporting local communities, such as committing to sourcing at least 35% of its food and drink from local producers at each store and by supporting community events, a statement reflected in their tagline, "Refreshingly Local". The first of the Haldanes stores began trading from mid-November 2009. Haldanes went into administration on 10 June 2011 and ceased trading a few days later.
History
The chain was founded in 2009, and began trading in November 2009 with five stores, with plans for a further 13 outlets across the United Kingdom to open by April 2010. The company's first stores were purchased from the Co-operative group, which was forced by the Competition Commission to sell some stores following its acquisition of Somerfield. Although most of the initial stores were based in Scotland, the retailer stated that the intention was to acquire stores "the length and breadth of the United Kingdom", with their first store in England opening in January 2010 in Tattershall, Lincolnshire.
On 10 June 2011, Haldanes went into administration and announced the closure of 21 supermarkets. On 26 June 2011, having been unable to find a buyer for the debt-laden chain, owner Arthur Harris pulled the plug on the business.
Management
The Chief Executive of Haldanes was Arthur Haldane Stuart Harris. The retail operation was headed by Operations Director Richard Collins and Chris Laud was Finance Director, managing the financial and administrative side of the firm. Stuart Eaton was the Facilities Director responsible for the physical assets and buildings used by the company. Other members of the board included Steve Back, former chief executive officer of Somerfield.
Operations
The company had two operational bases. Its headquarters were in Grantham, Lincolnshire; a regional office was being established in Broxburn, near Edinburgh at the time of closure. The buying group Nisa supplied most of the chain's goods, except those sourced locally.
Haldanes operated small and medium-sized supermarkets, between about 3,000 square feet (280 m2) and 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) in size.