The lost supermarket which was the first to introduce an own-brand budget range
20.08.2022 - 10:43
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Every supermarket has its own brand budget range to help families save money during their weekly shop. With the 2022 cost of living crisis in full swing, it’s hard to imagine how people would cope without value brands.
A store with branches in Manchester was the first to introduce a budget range in the UK. Fine Fare started life as a convenience store in 1951 before growing into a chain of large supermarkets.
The first branch opened in North London, and it wasn’t long before stores began popping up in other parts of the country.
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Two branches opened in Manchester - in Cheetham Hill and Wythenshawe. In 1980, the supermarket introduced its Yellow Pack budget range, the very first of its kind.
Some people may be able to remember the brand’s 1986 television advert which showed female shoppers browsing the shelves and looking at the camera to sing, “That’s fine by me!”, as the voiceover announced some of the supermarket’s cheapest deals. This included a pack of five Jacobs Club biscuits for 34p, Edam cheese for 95p, and 80 Fine Fare tea bags for 79p.
In June 1986, Associated British Foods sold the Fine Fare brand to The Dee Corporation, the company which later became Somerfield. All of the Fine Fare supermarkets were rebranded as Gateway or closed down completely.
This meant that, by the end of the 1980s, the Fine Fare name had disappeared from our high streets. Since then, the supermarket's history of being the first to introduce an own brand budget range has been forgotten by many.
What are your memories of Fine Fare? Let us know in the comments section below.
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