Symbol group
Retail business model
A symbol group is a form of franchise of convenience shops, found primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They do not own or operate shops, but act as suppliers to independent shops which then trade under a common banner.
Unlike other forms of franchise, they have expanded primarily by selling their services to existing shops, rather than by actively developing new outlets. Examples of such franchises are Spar, Londis, Nisa Local and Centra.
01Groups
Symbol groups include:
- Centra
- SuperValu
- Mace
- Spar
- Gala
- Best-one, Bargain Booze and Wine Rack (part of Bestway Wholesale)
- Costcutter - 2,600 shops (part of Bestway Wholesale, supplied by Cooperative Group until 2026)
- Nisa - 2,400 shops (part of The Co-operative Group)
- Premier Stores - 3,400 shops (part of Booker Group)
- Londis and Budgens - 1,800 shops (part of Booker Group)
Booker Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesco.
02Market
In 2014, the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) reported that the symbol group market is worth £15.5bn, with a 42% share of the UK convenience market through 17,080 shops.
In the 2010s there was significant consolidation in the sector, as Tesco purchased Booker and the Co-operative Group purchased Nisa.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Symbol group”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Belfast (315), October 2009.JPG by Ardfern, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Nisa - Warren Lane (geograph 2998587).jpg by Betty Longbottom, CC BY-SA 2.0
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