Industry Food retail Key people Michael Heuck (CEO) Founded 1979 Number of employees 2,438 | Founder Malcolm Heuck Website www.heronfoods.com Revenue 194.7 million GBP (2012) Net income 3.2 million GBP (2012) Parent organization Heron Food Group Ltd | |
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Type Private limited with share capital Owner Heron Food Group Limited (Heuck family and management) Headquarters Melton, East Riding of Yorkshire | ||
Heron Foods Ltd. (formerly Heron Frozen Foods Ltd and Grindells Butchers Ltd) is an English retail chain founded in 1979 and based in Melton with 243 stores.
Contents
It primarily sells frozen food, but has a wide range of dry and chilled stock with named brands including Muller, Birds Eye and McCain Foods, as well as several lines using the Heron Foods brand.
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Operations
The company's head office is at Melton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, previously at Walcott Street, Hull, and it has 243 outlets located throughout the North of England and the Midlands.
Heron Foods has successfully developed its business in selling frozen and convenience store goods at a discount, the majority of which are household brands. Heron occupy eight former Woolworth's locations.
History
The company was first registered in October 1978 as Grindells Butchers. The first store was opened by the Heuck family on Holderness Road, Hull in 1979. In 1981 the company changed name to Heron Frozen Foods. In 1999 Heron bought 17 Dawn Til Dusk convenience stores after that chain went into receivership, bringing its total number of stores to over 100. Malcolm and Sheila Heuck had a joint controlling interest in the company from the beginning, but in February 2003, having reached retirement age, they sold their stake to management. The company is now run by their sons Andrew, David and Michael. The company was ranked 13th in a list of the top 50 independent grocers on 27 February 2010 in The Grocer magazine.
In September 2012 Heron Foods agreed to buy the Cooltrader frozen foods business from Iceland. The deal included 54 of the 58 shops and the depot and head office of Cooltrader. The Cooltrader outlets have been converted to the Heron Foods fascia and branding.