Londis
Encyclopedia
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
s operating in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The stores form a symbol group
Symbol group
Symbol group is a mainly British term for a form of franchise in the retail sector. They do not own or operate stores, but act as suppliers to independent grocers and small supermarkets and produce stores which then trade under a common banner...
and are all owned on a franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
basis.
Great Britain
Londis was established in Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 1959 as a communally owned company, with each retailer owning a share in the parent company. The name Londis was a contraction of "London District Stores". However, in 2004, the parent company was sold to the Irish Musgrave
Musgrave Group
The Musgrave Group is a major Irish food wholesaler, founded in Cork by the Musgrave brothers, Thomas and Stuart in 1876. Musgrave Group has become Ireland's largest grocery distributor. Today, the Group has operations in Ireland, United Kingdom and Spain. Musgrave is the largest private company in...
wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
chain with a payment of £31000 being made to each retailer who owned a stake, bringing it under the same ownership as Budgens
Budgens
Budgens Stores Ltd is a chain of foodstores in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1872 by John Budgen, who opened the first store at Maidenhead, Berkshire. Budgens supermarket chain operates over 227 stores and employs over 6,000 staff...
, which has now adopted a similar franchise-based business model. This acquisition was highly controversial with the CEO of Musgrave in the UK, Eoin McGettigan, steering through the choppy waters of member revolts and counter offers from others backed by Icelandic Banks. A separate, but wholly owned subsidiary company, 'Musgrave Retail Partners GB' was formed to supply the stores.
The current Londis retailer network is in excess of 2200 stores and forecourt shops located throughout England, Scotland and Wales. 2008 saw an increase of over 200 stores, a record yearly increase for Londis.
A typical Londis outlet will have a sales area of about 1100 square feet (102.2 m²). The stores usually open early in the morning and stay open all day, closing late in the evening.
There is a Londis shop at every Butlins
Butlins
Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....
, Pontins and Haven Holidays camp.
Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the Londis format is controlled by grocer-owned wholesaler ADM Londis plc.
Allied Dublin Merchants was a co-operative of grocers
Retailers' cooperative
A retailers' cooperative is a type of cooperative which employs economies of scale on behalf of its retailer members. Retailers' cooperatives use their purchasing power to acquire discounts from manufacturers and often share marketing expenses. It is common for locally owned grocery stores,...
in Ireland founded in 1954. Its subsidiary, ADM Londis Ltd, began in 1970 when it acquired the Londis master franchise for Ireland.
In 1995, it bought the rights to the brand for the island of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
outright. Its only remaining link with Londis UK is the name. A 1975 name change to Allied Distributive Merchants preceded the 2005 formation of ADM Londis plc.
ADM Londis describes itself as a retailers' co-operative, and its members own 360 stores. Changing from a legal co-operative to an unlisted public limited company
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
in 2004, ADM Londis also claims to be the only Irish symbol group
Symbol group
Symbol group is a mainly British term for a form of franchise in the retail sector. They do not own or operate stores, but act as suppliers to independent grocers and small supermarkets and produce stores which then trade under a common banner...
where retailers can own the company through share holdings and realise the value in their shares at market price.
From 1998 to 2004, a number of petrol stations in Ireland had Londis-branded forecourt stores as part of an agreement with Tedcastles Oil Products
Tedcastles Oil Products
Tedcastles Oil Products Limited is an Irish petrol company founded in 1960 which trades under the brand name "TOP". Before a rebranding in 1998, the company traded as "Tedcastle's Oil"...
(TOP), a major Irish fuel retailer. These stores, and several high street stores owned by TOP Petrol Stations, were called Londis Topshop. In 2004 however, ADM Londis and TOP dissolved their agreement. ADM then acquired the jointly owned Londis Topshop stores and rebranded them as Londis, using the opportunity to rebrand the stores with the new Londis logo.
ADM Londis introduced the Londis Plus brand for larger, supermarket
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...
-format stores. The font of logo in newer UK stores is now Calibri.