Sainsbury's Local Locations Near You

As one of the leading groceries and general merchandise retailers in the United Kingdom, it is a household name, and most people will have been a customer at some point in their life. However, here are five things you might not know:

1. Their first shop was set up in 1869 on Drury Lane in Holborn, London.

2. They were one of the first adopters of self-service supermarkets in the UK, with many shops developed in the 1950s and 1960s. This was due to the chairman at the time, Alan Sainsbury, who saw the potential of self-service shops after a trip to the United States.

3. The company has had many brand ambassadors over the years, with notable names including TV chef Jamie Oliver, Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds, and former footballer David Beckham.

4. It was one of the first major British corporations to employ an online-only recruitment system. The strategy was introduced in November 2007 and was controversial due to only half of the population having access to the internet at the time.

5. They run an Active Kids campaign whereby local organisations can redeem vouchers donated by customers in exchange for children's sports equipment.

The supermarket giant operates both online and in brick-and-mortar stores. A typical shop usually stocks over 30,000 different lines, with 20% of that being their own brands.

Among their own-label goods are:

• Basics: An economy range that covers mainly food items but also includes some stationery and toiletry products.

• Taste the Difference: A high-end brand of food that has premium-quality lines in many frozen and fresh foods and bakery products.

• Be Good to Yourself: Often abbreviated to BGTY, this range is aimed at consumers looking for food products with reduced calories.

• Deliciously FreeFrom: Products suitable for consumers with various allergies and diet restrictions, including intolerances for wheat, dairy, and gluten.

• SO Organic: This brand features food products sourced from fertiliser-free and pesticide-free environments.

They do not only provide own-label food products but also have non-food-related brands such as HOME and Home Collection, which offer a variety of products including kitchenware, bed linen, and lighting, and Tu, their own clothing line.

The company was initially set up in 1869 by John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury, whose first store was in Holborn, London. After focusing mainly on fresh food retail, the supermarket later became a vendor of packaged food goods. At the time of John James Sainsbury’s death in 1928, the company had 128 shops and was expanding at a steady rate. World War II was a turbulent time for business, as many of their workforce (predominantly men) were called into National Service, and many of its shops in London were bombed. After surviving and then rapidly expanding during the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s, the company suffered a brief decline during the 1990s. The brand then had a re-launch in 1998 and has experienced steady growth and market success ever since.