Research Ideas

Research ideas in the Sainsbury Archive

This article is based on an academic research scoping report about the Sainsbury Archive by Peter Scott, Professor of International Business History, Henley Business School at the University of Reading. For over 30 years Scott has researched retail history in the archives of many firms and undertaken evaluations of several major business archives. His perspective on the strengths of the Sainsbury Archive, which he calls ‘one of Britain’s most important business archives’, has enabled us to highlight some ‘project themes’ and items related to them with great potential value for a wide range of researchers, from school and university students to academics in business schools and many other institutions.

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SA/BRA/4/3/3/12 "Data Processing at Sainsbury's" booklet

Searching the Sainsbury Archive’s catalogue will often reveal huge quantities of digitized material, such as photographs, advertising, packaging (including design material), and the staff magazine ‘JS Journal’. But many other areas with significant academic value are easy to overlook. This is because the Archive has not digitized some parts of the collection, so images of them cannot be viewed on the Archive’s website (this article will make clear which of the records mentioned are available online). Researchers should know, however, that the vast majority of the collection is described in the catalogue, even if sometimes it is only briefly listed or summarized. Some material is closed for reasons of confidentiality or privacy, but users of the Archive may rest assured that there are not great quantities of information that they will never come across no matter how closely they browse the catalogue. 

Expansion

One of the key findings in Scott’s report is the completeness of the Archive’s data on Sainsbury’s territorial expansion from its foundation in 1869 to the present day. He suggests that ‘very few (if any) major retail groups have complete annual data on their branch openings, extensions, closures, and conversions to self-service for a period of over 100 years. Sainsbury’s can do this with no breaks in the series… [the records] provide the most detailed information on retail company branching I have seen for any national retailer (especially for the period before 1939). Such data would be of particular interest to historical geographers, who have begun to work on branching patterns for retailers, banks, insurance companies, and other firms that require branch premises.’ An interactive map on the ‘Branches’ page of this website shows when all branches opened and closed, but further details can be found in the following records (click on the links to see more information at the relevant place in the Archive’s catalogue):

·       ‘A Chronological List of Branches Opened by J. Sainsbury Ltd’ (SA/BRA/2/3/3) is a complete record of branch openings, closures, extensions and conversions to self-service up to 1966.

·       An alphabetical list (SA/BRA/2/3/6/2) of all Sainsbury’s branches, including ones that were already closed, was compiled during the 1970s and 1980s. It gives each branch’s number, name, address, opening date, and (if applicable) dates of extension, conversion to self-service and closure. For reasons which are unclear today there are eight versions of the list in the Archive, each with some slight differences between them.

·       SA/BRA/2/3/10/2 gives comprehensive sales area information for branches opened between 1954 and 1988. This data reveals exactly how stores got bigger and could be used to investigate regional variation in sales areas.

·       Sainsbury’s Branch Administration department regularly prepared documents showing the numbers of supermarkets, self-service stores, counter service stores, Freezer Centres, petrol stations, coffee shops and off licences in the company. They also include the dates of any openings and closures during the relevant financial year. Examples from 1976-1994 can be found at SA/BRA/2/3/11.

Data

Scott’s report makes clear that the Sainsbury Archive contains data-rich records enabling in-depth research into many other subjects besides geographical expansion. Some particularly significant resources include:

·       Revaluation accounts (SA/HIST/2/22) from the 1950s show the value of all Sainsbury’s property and other assets, along with notes on the procedure used.

·       Ledgers (SA/FIN/4/1) give a much more detailed picture of the figures found in the digitized annual reports and accounts (SA/CO/5/1), as the data is broken down to the level of individual departments within the company.

·       A large series of branch-related financial records covering most of the 20^th century are catalogued within SA/FIN/10. Although it might take some time to get a sense of exactly how these might be useful, they provide extensive sales data broken down by individual branches and products. Some similar information can be found in two digitized registers of branch results from 1906-1948 (SA/EMP/2/27).

·       SA/FIN/12 is another large series of sales figures focussing on products, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. These give a complete picture of what Sainsbury’s sold at a particular time and how sales and prices fluctuated throughout the year. They can thus tell us much about how the British diet changed. They also show how Sainsbury’s non-foods operation expanded.

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SA/CO/5/1/24 Annual report and accounts 1973

Wartime trading

Scott emphasised how much information the Archive contains about ‘the daily and longer-term challenges of food distribution on the “Home Front” during the Second World War and the post-war austerity era.’ Key areas of the collection are the following:

·       Three volumes of letters and bulletins sent from Sainsbury’s head office to branches between 1939 and 1945 survive as part of the series SA/BRA/3/1/2/46. They contain a wealth of detailed information about how the shops were meant to operate during wartime. Topics include the recruitment of female staff to replace men who joined the armed forces, Air Raid Precautions and rationing. ‘Given the strong popular and scholarly interest of the Home Front and the Second World War,’ Scott noted, ‘these would be of substantial interest to a large potential audience, from schoolchildren to academics.’ All pages have been digitized and uploaded to the Archive’s website and a complete list of subjects is available on request, although the full text is not searchable. A similar volume from 1924-1925 can be found in the same series. Unfortunately bulletins from the intervening years appear to have been lost.

·       The Archive also has records about the work of Sainsbury’s depots during the Second World War. A manual (SA/BL/3/221) explains various procedures concerning the supply of goods, including what should happen in the event of an invasion of Britain.

·       Digitized advertising relating to the First World War can be browsed here. Second World War-era advertisements are here. Advertising with references to rationing during and after both world wars is here.

·       Three digitized Sainsbury’s ‘Branch Rationing Guides’ from 1945-1950 (SA/BRA/3/1/1/34) show how the company explained the law to its staff.

·       Scott was also interested in a file of minutes and correspondence regarding decentralisation of depots from 1951-1952 (SA/DEP/GEN/5/4), as it demonstrates that preparations for a potential invasion continued into the Cold War.

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SA/BRA/3/1/2/46/3 Branch letters (memoranda from head office), 1938-39

Staff training

Another area Scott looked at was material provided to train and instruct staff. He observed that ‘Sainsbury’s has long been known for the calibre of its staff training’, and the relevant records go back to the early twentieth century. Some of these items are catalogued in more detail than others, and it is worth browsing sections of the catalogue such as SA/BRA/3, SA/BRA/4 and SA/EMP/TRAI to get a sense of what there is. Here are some particularly notable records (all have been digitized except SA/BRA/3/1/1/7/2, SA/EMP/TRAI/7-9 and SA/EMP/TRAI/IMA):

·       ‘Branch Rule Books’ from 1914 (SA/BRA/3/1/1/11), 1923 (SA/BRA/3/1/1/7/2) and c. 1934 (SA/BRA/3/1/1/7/1) give thorough instructions on all aspects of managing a Sainsbury’s shop, including daily routines and food preparation.

·       Sometime around the 1960s Sainsbury’s produced a manual (SA/EMP/TRAI/5) containing detailed information on how to train branch staff to work with the most important fresh food products. It gives an insight into training methods along with many interesting facts about Sainsbury’s goods.

·       Numerous volumes of ‘Standing Instructions’ issued to branch staff between the 1950s and 1980s can be found here. Some volumes cover ‘general shop practice’ and others explain procedures for working with all the types of food Sainsbury’s sold. A small number of pages from these volumes have not been added to the website; check the ‘Access’ field to see which volumes are only ‘Partially open’.

·       ‘J Sainsbury / Window Diagrams’ (SA/BRA/4/1/3/39) shows how staff were supposed to position goods in counter service branch windows in the 1950s or 1960s.

·       SA/BRA/3/1/1/49 and SA/BRA/3/1/1/50 explain the purpose of each and every piece of equipment that staff might have encountered in a branch in 1979, illustrated with colour photographs. Pages often have further information about manufacturers and distribution.

·       SA/EMP/TRAI/7, SA/EMP/TRAI/8 and SA/EMP/TRAI/9 contain an assortment of training material from the second half of the twentieth century. They have not yet been described in detail or arranged in a logical manner, but their contents are listed in the catalogue.

·       Similarly sparsely catalogued, but still potentially interesting, is a large collection of images relating to training (SA/EMP/TRAI/IMA).

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SA/EMP/TRAI/5 J. Sainsbury training manual

Technology

Scott also found that technological innovations feature prominently in the Archive. The records he picked out cover several different types of progress:

·       A digitized manual for using the Plessey ‘trolley’ data collection system from 1973 is at SA/BRA/3/1/1/17.

·       In the 1980s Sainsbury’s directors assessed the roll-out of computer systems and barcode scanners in stores. A substantial study and other records of this work can be found at SA/BRA/4/3/1/12 and SA/BRA/4/3/1/13.

·       The Archive includes detailed and well-catalogued material about EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale) and card payment at SA/BRA/4/3/1/16 and SA/BRA/4/3/1/17.

·       In the 1980s Sainsbury’s branches ordered stock using a computer system called ‘BOS 2’ (short for ‘Branch Ordering System’). SA/BRA/4/2/12 comprises manuals and other information introducing it to staff.

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SA/BRA/4/3/2/7 "Modern technology at Sainsbury's" leaflet

Subsidiaries

Some researchers may be unaware of how much the Sainsbury Archive contains about subsidiaries such as SavaCentre and Homebase. Although a lot of this material consists of photographs and advertising, and more detail could be added to the catalogue, it is nonetheless possible to list numerous records with significant operational information:

·       The SavaCentre board minutes (SA/SUB/SBHS/GEN/10) chart the development of Sainsbury’s hypermarkets subsidiary from its infancy (including the selection of the company’s name) to its expansion across Britain. Digitized newsletters and annual reports for SavaCentre staff are available at SA/SUB/SBHS/GEN/1.

·       The Homebase board minutes (SA/SUB/SGB/GEN/7/1) likewise provide a very complete picture of this company’s early years. SA/SUB/SGB/GEN/9 is a good example of the interestingly varied boxes of Homebase material held by the Archive.

·       Papers relating to Sainsbury’s acquisition of DIY retailer Texas Homecare in 1995 can be found in SA/SUB/TEX/6. An incomplete series of ‘Impact’, the Texas staff magazine, is at SA/SUB/TEX/15.

·       In 1983 Sainsbury’s made an investment in the USA, acquiring part of the New England supermarket chain Shaw’s. The SA/SUB/SHAW section of the Archive’s catalogue appears to contain only limited documentation about the acquisition process, but some press cuttings and press releases can be found in SA/SUB/SHAW/1/28, along with material from the earlier history of Shaw’s.

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SA/SUB/SGB/A-Z/C/IMA/8/3 Photograph of Croydon Homebase, c.1981 (interior: aisles with shoppers)

If you have questions about any of these records, or would like to book a research appointment to view items in person, contact details and further information are available here.