‘Tesco’, ‘Fine Fare’, ‘Gateway’ and ‘Presto’

 

It is quite amazing how ‘Tesco’ has become the most powerful retailer in the United Kingdom under the management of Sir Terry Leahy and how the store’s fascia has become ubiquitous on the streets of this country, especially when thinking back to the 1980s.

 

In those days, Jack Cohen’s supermarket group was a very downmarket affair, nearer in style to a discount retailer such as ‘Quality Save’ or ‘B&M Bargains’. There was no scope for all the healthy eating and luxury food ranges; and no ‘Clubcard’ either, though I remember my parents having a ‘Green Shield Stamp’ collection book that was never completed. I also remember never seeing one of the ‘out-of-town’ Tesco stores in those days, only the normal high street shops, which I remember from being in the centre of Sale and Stockport. In these days, the ‘Tesco’ stores were more like a poor ‘M&S’ in the way that they had a floor devoted to food shopping and a floor devoted to clothes. The floor devoted to clothes was usually upstairs and were sold for many years, until one day in the Stockport branch the stairs were blocked off as Tesco’s decided it would not sell any clothes any longer (though in the 2000s clothes came back into their massive ‘Extra’ store).

 

The 1980s version of these massive ‘Tesco’ stores, were the ‘Fine Fare’ and ‘Shopping Giant’ hypermarkets, though I might be getting my ‘brands’ mixed up here as I think the ‘Fine Fare’ store morphed into ‘Food Giant’ at one point. I think that ‘Shopping Giant’ was a big ‘Co-op’ store that sold everything and had all services from funerals to watch repairs under one roof, whilst ‘Food Giant’ was a multi-coloured store that looked more like the set of Pat Sharp’s ‘Funhouse’ than Dale Winton’s ‘Supermarket Sweep’. In fact the design was migraine inducing, so much so, that you expected ‘Pee Wee Hermann’ and ‘Miss Piggy’ to work there on Saturdays.

 

I am not sure who actually owned ‘Food Giant’ but I think it might have been the group who are now called ‘Somerfield’. Back then the majority of the ‘Somerfield’ stores were called ‘Gateway’, with my only memory of the ‘Somerfield’ name was when it was used for an upmarket store in the main shopping centre in Buxton.

 

Another store which we thought to be more upmarket than the local ‘Liptons’ or ‘Lo-Cost’ was ‘Safeway’, especially when a brand new store was built in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Being an American firm we thought that the store was the height of supermarket sophistication from the ‘home of large shopping’ and in 1984 we thought the store was closer in style to ‘Waitrose’ than ‘W.M. Morrison’. However, this might have been only to our Northern minds as ‘Safeway’ had been located in the south since the 1960s and the format seemed an improvement over other store’s layouts.

 

A Stockport boy I see?

 

I remember that Tesco store just about - was most bizarre! Isn't it a Sports Soccer now?

what a strange topic!

 

tesco was a scummy liitle dive when it started out, i used to get my first records from ... ex juke box... 'dead end street', 'in the country', 'save me'... lol.

 

remember 'fine fare' too.

I remember 'Fine Fare'. My cousin was once really disappointed as he thought we were all going to the 'fun fair'. He got some sweets out of it though.

 

Tesco's was better when it was William Low...where the prices are always way down.

A Stockport boy I see?

 

I remember that Tesco store just about - was most bizarre! Isn't it a Sports Soccer now?

 

Not really, but that town is not far away.

 

It is hard to say exactly because that mall was rebuilt in the 1990s and I think that store is now slightly further over, I think ‘Tescos’ would have been part of that store and where ‘Waterstones’ is.

 

You missed out "William Low"..... :lol:

I remember Shopping Giant. There was one in Cheetham Hill.

 

"Fee fi fo fum, Shopping Giant's number one" :D

Now Tesco is one nasty greedy-bast*rd of a corporate monster!

You missed out "William Low"..... :lol:

 

Oi! I bigged them up not two posts before you! Word to the Willie!

 

Sorry, I came over all 'street' there...

 

Omg I remember Presto. :dance: And my mum apparently used to work at Fine Fare when she was like 17. Granways was my personal fave though. :heart:

Another store ‘Lo-Cost’

 

You missed out "William Low"..... :lol:

 

so im guessing that these died out as they were more expensive than tescos :lol: :lol:

so im guessing that these died out as they were more expensive than tescos :lol: :lol:

 

Willie Low got bought out by Tesco, all Wm Low stores became Tesco after that.... :(

 

Now Tesco is one nasty greedy-bast*rd of a corporate monster!

 

True -but it's only because people keep shopping there!

True -but it's only because people keep shopping there!

 

well people think gotta get my points. true innit and price always a factor. probs the same in 1972 (cant actually say what supermarkets were like in 1972 but i can feel the vibe as ive been to netto)

so im guessing that these died out as they were more expensive than tescos :lol: :lol:

 

I think it is more likely to be the factor of ‘local brand’ verses ‘national brand’. However, does anyone know if all the ‘John Menzies’ stores survived in Scotland after the retail side was bought out by the ‘W.H. Smith’ group.

I remember 2 others - Pay Less and Adsega.

 

However, does anyone know if all the ‘John Menzies’ stores survived in Scotland after the retail side was bought out by the ‘W.H. Smith’ group.

 

They all did initially, but slowly they turned into Smiths. I don't think there's any John Mingus stores left.

We never pronounced it correctly, we always called it ‘Men-Zes’ and still do, even with Menzies Campbell in the News.