Second shop opened at 159 Queens Crescent, Kentish Town.

In 1873 the Sainsbury family moved to live above their new shop at 159 Queens Crescent. To open a second shop just four years after starting their business was a remarkable achievement. Queen's Crescent was far less impoverished than Drury Lane. Kentish Town was located on the edge of a new area of suburban development and John Benjamin Sainsbury recalled that it ‘served a big distance as far out as Hendon’. Like Drury Lane, the second shop was a small dairy, selling eggs, milk, butter and cheese. A customer recalled that it was possible to buy milk when the shop was closed from a slot machine outside, known as a 'mechanical cow'. The shop did well and John James opened another branch in 1875 at 151 Queen's Crescent. This new shop specialised in ham and bacon, imported from Ireland and Denmark. Trade continued to grow and in 1884, a third branch was added at number 98. Each of the Queen’s Crescent shops was relatively small and so, as in Drury Lane, Sainsbury’s traded from both the open windows of the shops and from trestle tables outside. There was rivalry for trade, both with market traders and between the three Sainsbury’s shops, which were known locally as ‘upper Sains’, ‘middle Sains’ and ‘lower Sains’.

First suburban branch at 9/11 London Road, Croydon, selling 'high class provisions' opened.

In 1882 John James Sainsbury bought a shop at 9 (later 11) London Road, Croydon and converted it into a showpiece branch. Croydon was rapidly becoming the largest suburban town in the London area, with a population of 78,947 in 1881. Sainsbury’s new shop was opposite West Croydon station. Great care was taken with the decoration of the shop - John James personally selected the tiles for the walls and counters and mosaics for the floor, in fashionable shades of brown and green. The counter tops were made of Italian marble. At the far end of the shop a mahogany screen formed a partition between the sales and office areas. The windows were decorated with stained glass spandrels depicting game birds and hares, while upon the rich marbled granite shop front were carved the words 'Daily Arrivals of Pure Butter'. Above this, in even larger gilded letters was the name 'J.Sainsbury'. Many rivals thought John James had been too lavish in fitting out the new shop, but the decorations were practical and hygienic as well as attractive. His son John Benjamin later recalled that: ‘The critics missed the point my father had in mind, and that was to produce a shop to ensure perfect cleanliness and freedom from the menace of all food shops in those days - mice and rats.’ Customers at Croydon could choose from a much greater range of products than in any previous Sainsbury’s shop. A well as a wide range of cooked meats and poultry and game in season, Sainsbury’s claimed to be ‘the only house in Surrey’ to stock so many cheeses, including Bondons, York Creams and Alpine Creams. The model store was successful and further branches were soon opened in Croydon, including a pork butchers at 18 (later 35) London Road. This was the first branch to sell Sainsbury’s own-brand sausages.

New headquarters, depot and factory established at 11 Stamford Street, Blackfriars.

By 1890, the north London depot had grown outdated and inconvenient for serving the growing network of branches across the capital. John James Sainsbury acquired a new site at Stamford Street and Bennett Street at Blackfriars. The new head office and warehouse was in an ideal location for the Thames wharves, wholesale markets and main railway terminals. The location, alongside the area known as 'London's Larder' elevated John James' status to that of 'provision merchant and agent'. The more central location of Blackfriars meant that locations to the south and east of London were far more accessible, and contributed to Sainsbury's dramatic expansion between 1890 and 1900. More warehouse space was soon needed and so Stamford House was built in 1912-13.

Dalston store opened, which was the first branch to start selling longer life grocery goods as well as a fresh food range

Expansion into the Midlands, with the acquisition of the Thoroughgoods chain

Sainsbury’s first developed a connection with the Midlands in 1936 with the purchase of the Thoroughgoods chain, founded by Alfred Banton, who had started out as an employee of John James Sainsbury. Banton’s chain of shops in the Midlands passed to his sons on his retirement, but when the business went bankrupt, Sainsbury’s acquired most of the shops. The shops furthest from Sainsbury’s Blackfriars depot were subsequently sold, but nine branches were retained - in Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, Kettering, Walsall and Northampton.

9/11 London Road, Croydon branch converted to self-service shopping

Sainsbury’s was not the first shop to introduce the idea of self-service to the UK, but it became the first to specifically design shops to operate this way. A few retailers, notably the London Co-operative Society, had previously re-arranged fittings to provide a limited range of self-service groceries. In 1950, Alan Sainsbury ordered the complete refurbishment of the store at 9/11 London Road, Croydon, which had previously been used by John James as a model store for the suburbs when it was opened in 1882. With a floor area of 3,300 square feet, this was one of the few Sainsbury’s stores suitable for conversion to self-service. Post-war building controls were strict and the store was refurbished under one of 100 licenses granted by the Ministry of Food to companies who were prepared to experiment with self-service retailing. 9-11 London Road remained open to customers during the re-fit while a range of modern features were installed which would eventually become standard in all stores. The refurbished store opened on 26th June 1950. After years of shortages and queuing, customers welcomed the ability to make their own choice from a larger range of goods. Assistants were employed to help older customers adapt to the new style of shopping, but there were still a few who were less than impressed. One Croydon customer who was offered a wire basket by Alan Sainsbury threw it back at him in contempt!

First in-store bakery opened at Telford.

The Telford bakery produced pastries as well as a full range of loaves. In addition, a normal range of wrapped and sliced bread was available in the main body of the shop.

First Freezer Centre opens in Southbourne, Bournemouth

First Sainsbury’s (and British Home Store) SavaCentre hypermarket opens in Washington, Tyne and Wear

Closure of last counter service store, at Rye Lane, Peckham

First Scottish branch opens in Darnley, Glasgow

The first Sainsbury's supermarket opened in Darnley, Glasgow, in March 1992. The Darnley store was opened by JD Sainsbury and celebrated with a cake iced by Jane Asher. The previous month, a time capsule had been buried at the store to commemorate the landmark branch in Sainsbury’s history. Children from local schools Darnley Primary and Eastwood High School put forward ideas for the capsule’s content which included a Sainsbury’s receipt, new products and ten copies of the staff magazine ‘JS Journal’. Links were quickly forged between the store and local community, including work with schools and charity fundraising. Sainsbury’s also donated equipment to the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

First store in Northern Ireland opens at Ballymena

Ballymena was the first store in Northern Ireland, opening on 3 December 1996. The store was built on the site of the former gas works and created 300 new jobs for the area. Making the most of the December opening date, local children sang Christmas carols and helped David Sainsbury pull a giant Christmas cracker. The store contained around 900 locally sourced product lines, such as Food Flair shortbread and included fishmonger, butcher, bakery and delicatessen counters, as well as a restaurant and petrol station. Ballymena was also the only Sainsbury’s store to contain a branch of a bank, First Trust.

1000th store opens in Irvine, Scotland