Foundation
It was founded as Value Foods by Welsh entrepreneur Albert Gubay on 11 May 1959 and based in Prestatyn. The company rented its first retail shop in Queen Street, Rhyl, in July 1959.[5][6] Further traditional shops were opened in Chester and Wrexham.[5] In 1964, Gubay visited the United States with fellow director Ken Nicholson, and learnt about the "baby shark" method of retailing.[5]
Combined with ideas gained from West German retailer Aldi,[5] the business model was based on buying a limited range of lines on favourable (net 60 or 90 days) payment terms, distributing and selling them at or below cost before the payment fell due, and using the interest on the resulting cash flow to fund the business.
The first Kwik Save Discount branded shop opened in Colwyn Bay, produced more sales than the existing supermarkets of Value Foods, and by 1967, Kwik Save Discount had thirteen shops.[5]
Just before it was floated on to the London Stock Exchange in November 1970, the company changed its name to Kwik Save Discount Group Ltd.[5] In 1973, Gubay sold Kwik Save for $28 million.[7] Gubay repeated the low price retail model using the 3 Guys brand in New Zealand, Ireland and the United States.[7]
1990s
In November 1994, Kwik Save acquired 117 supermarkets from Shoprite, a fellow food discounter, for £45 million.[8] The company subsequently accepted that it was focused too much on acquisitions rather than its existing operations.[8] It announced the closure of 107 underperforming shops in November 1996.[8]
Merger with Somerfield
In February 1998, Kwik Save merged with Somerfield,[9] and began operating as a trading division of Somerfield Stores Ltd.
All Kwik Save shops were to be rebranded as Somerfield, but it was quickly realised that the look and feel of existing Kwik Save shops – featuring warehouse style wooden shelving, space saving small checkouts and narrow aisles – would not lend itself well to the Somerfield fascia.[1] For this reason, the plan was abandoned and the best Kwik Save shops were converted, based on location and market demand, receiving a full refurbishment.[10] Meanwhile Somerfield's own Food Giant discount supermarkets were rebranded as Kwik Save.
Sale of shops to BTTF
On 27 February 2006, Somerfield Stores Ltd sold the brand and the remaining 171 shops to BTTF, an investment vehicle headed by Paul Niklas, for an undisclosed sum.[11] Somerfield rebranded the 102 Kwik Save locations it retained under its own name and a further 77 shops were sold to other retailers, including 19 to Netto.[12]
According to a report in PR Week in April 2006, Kwik Save hired a marketing agency in a bid to revitalise the brand and reposition it as an alternative to the leading supermarkets. Around £200,000 was allocated to public relations as part of a marketing brief worth £4m-£5m.[13]
In October 2006 a £30m refinancing package from unnamed investors was partly used to purchase a further 45 shops from Somerfield. Some of those were part of the Competition Commission investigation into Somerfield's purchase of 114 Safeway Compact shops in 2004.[14]
Shop closures
On 29 May 2007, Kwik Save announced plans to close 79 shops with immediate effect. By 30 May 2007, all shops affected were closed. Kwik Save's market share fell from 1.2% in the twelve weeks to April 2006 to 0.2% in the same period in 2007, according to TNS Worldpanel. BBC News also reported that Arla Foods UK stopped delivering fresh milk to the Kwik Save chain in the week beginning 21 May 2007, due to "payment problems".[18]
On 14 June 2007, Kwik Save announced plans to close a further twenty two shops with immediate effect, in order to protect them from the danger of administration. The group had now closed a third of its shops across United Kingdom, leading to up to seven hundred job losses.[19]
On 21 June 2007, Kwik Save announced to the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers that it would not be paying staff, who were expecting to be paid the following day.[20] On 6 July 2007, the company was placed into administration. Kwik Save was left with 56 shops (The store in Sutton-in-Ashfield was set alight by arsonists and subsequently demolished) and they were transferred to a new company called
Relaunch as convenience shop brand
In April 2012, the Kwik Save brand was relaunched by its new owners Costcutter as a more budget oriented fascia offering for members of its symbol group of independently owned convenience shops. The first new shop opened in Little Lever, Bolton, and the company is continuing to expand. The store in Little Lever has since become a Spar.
