Sainsbury's Freezer Centres

Material relating to Sainsbury's Freezer Centre stores, including: copies of Home & Freezer Digest magazine; Freezer Centre newsletters; Sainsbury's Freezer magazines; price lists; press cuttings; images.

During 1974 there was a marked growth in the number of people buying freezers and filling them with as much bulk packed food. This led to a new style of freezer-food outlet, led by Bejam. By 1974, 11% of households (c. 2 million consumers) had freezers. Sainsbury's had several shops remaining in high street locations with the potential to convert to freezer centres. Sainsbury's planned to develop 40 freezer centres within 3 years. These centres would stock proprietary lines, alongside own label frozen goods. The venture was headed by Derek Salisbury.

The first branch at Southbourne in Bournemouth opened 24 June 1974 but closed after 10 months as the mostly retired local population did not own freezers. Subsequent stores were more successful. Ranges included bulk packs of fish, meat, vegetables and chips, continental specialities such as lasagne and pizza, as well as puddings such as arctic roll. As large supermarkets opened which could accomodate large freezer cabinets, the requirement for dedicated frozen food stores waned. By 1980, 21 independent freezer centres remained. These were sold to Bejam in 1986. [From 'Sainsbury's: The Record Years 1950-1992' by Giles Emerson, 2006]

For individual freezer centre branches, see branch files in SA/ BR.
For other subsidiary and associate companies, see: SA/GIA (Giant Foods); SA/SBHS (Savacentre); SA/SGB (Homebase); SA/SHAW (Shaw's); SA/TEX (Texas).