Jewel Food Stores (Australia)
Encyclopedia
Jewel Food Stores was a discount supermarket
chain in Australia
that is now defunct. The chain was originally owned and operated by the Fleming family. They are not related to the American supermarket chain "Jewel"
now owned by Supervalu
.
The Fleming family sold their Flemings
supermarkets to Woolworths Limited
in June 1960. They continued operating that chain through Woolworths for the next 10 years before acquiring the 42-store Warmans grocery chain and relaunching it as a discount supermarket under the "Jewel Food Stores" name. Its generic product range was called "No Name".
Jewel was pitched as a low-price supermarket chain similar to Flemings. It was credited with bringing the food barn concept to Australia through the Jewel Food Barn format, which sold dry groceries and frozen foods only. The stores had a downmarket look similar to its major rival Franklins
, another discount supermarket chain based and established in Sydney. To a lesser extent, it also competed with the Newcastle-based Shoeys discount supermarkets, later to be taken over by BI-LO
from South Australia.
While Jewel found limited success in New South Wales against long-time incumbent Franklins, Jewel entered Victoria a few years before Franklins and found more success there. In the early 1990s, Jewel launched Jewel Country Fresh in response to Franklins and BI-LO launching market-style full-line discount supermarkets. Jewel also acquired the Rainbow supermarket in Doonside, Western Sydney. These formats carried not only dry groceries and frozen foods, but also fresh foods in a market-style environment.
In 1995, Jewel Food Stores Pty Ltd was acquired by Davids Holdings (which later became Metcash Trading Ltd). In 1998 Davids sold its chain of 130 Jewel supermarkets to Independent Retailers for about $100 million. A number of stores closed. The Jewel name disappeared completely when Independent Retailers rationalised their 29 different grocery banners to form one, Independent Grocers of Australia
(IGA).
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
chain in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
that is now defunct. The chain was originally owned and operated by the Fleming family. They are not related to the American supermarket chain "Jewel"
Jewel (supermarket)
Jewel-Osco is a supermarket chain headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Jewel-Osco has 182 stores across northern, central, and western Illinois; eastern Iowa; and portions of northwest Indiana.Jewel-Osco and Jewel are currently wholly owned subsidiaries of Eden Prairie,...
now owned by Supervalu
Supervalu (United States)
SuperValu Inc. is a United States grocery retailer and distributor. The corporation, headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has been in business for over a century. It is the third-largest food retailing company in the United States , and ranks #51 on the Fortune 100 list.On June 2, 2006,...
.
The Fleming family sold their Flemings
Flemings (supermarkets)
Flemings is a chain of supermarkets in Sydney, Australia. The chain is owned by Woolworths Limited and only two supermarkets still trade under the Flemings brand name. Internally they are known as Woolworths, feature the same marketing materials and carry the same home brand products. The remaining...
supermarkets to Woolworths Limited
Woolworths Limited
Woolworths Limited is a major Australian company with extensive retail interest throughout Australia and New Zealand. It is the:* largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand by market capitalisation and sales...
in June 1960. They continued operating that chain through Woolworths for the next 10 years before acquiring the 42-store Warmans grocery chain and relaunching it as a discount supermarket under the "Jewel Food Stores" name. Its generic product range was called "No Name".
Jewel was pitched as a low-price supermarket chain similar to Flemings. It was credited with bringing the food barn concept to Australia through the Jewel Food Barn format, which sold dry groceries and frozen foods only. The stores had a downmarket look similar to its major rival Franklins
Franklins
Franklins is a discount supermarket chain selling packaged groceries and perishables throughout New South Wales, Australia. It owns the No Frills brand of generic products, promoted by their mascot, "Red Sock". It is known as "Australia's Original Discount Grocer"...
, another discount supermarket chain based and established in Sydney. To a lesser extent, it also competed with the Newcastle-based Shoeys discount supermarkets, later to be taken over by BI-LO
BI-LO (Australia)
BI-LO is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers . Once a chain of 180 outlets, most BI-LO supermarkets were re-branded as Coles Supermarkets during 2006 and 2007. In October 2008, Coles stated it was looking to create a new chain to replace the remaining BI-LO stores...
from South Australia.
While Jewel found limited success in New South Wales against long-time incumbent Franklins, Jewel entered Victoria a few years before Franklins and found more success there. In the early 1990s, Jewel launched Jewel Country Fresh in response to Franklins and BI-LO launching market-style full-line discount supermarkets. Jewel also acquired the Rainbow supermarket in Doonside, Western Sydney. These formats carried not only dry groceries and frozen foods, but also fresh foods in a market-style environment.
In 1995, Jewel Food Stores Pty Ltd was acquired by Davids Holdings (which later became Metcash Trading Ltd). In 1998 Davids sold its chain of 130 Jewel supermarkets to Independent Retailers for about $100 million. A number of stores closed. The Jewel name disappeared completely when Independent Retailers rationalised their 29 different grocery banners to form one, Independent Grocers of Australia
IGA (Australian supermarket group)
Independent Grocers of Australia, or IGA, is a chain of independent supermarkets in Australia. It is the local variant of the international Independent Grocers Association...
(IGA).