Bargain Booze

A Bargain Booze in Bradford, UK

Bargain Booze is a chain of off licence stores that operates in the United Kingdom.[1] Founded in 1981, it has since grown to 611 stores[1] and has opened the Bargain Booze Select Convenience store franchise.[2]

Operations

The chain is owned by Conviviality Retail, which is based in Crewe, and also owns the Thorougoods newsagent chain and Wine Rack.[1] Bargain Booze is operated through a franchise model, with around 460 franchisees.[3] The chain is strongest in the north of England, particularly the North West.[4] It is the largest off licence chain in the United Kingdom.[5]

Stores are generally relatively small, and stock a range of beers, wines and spirits, often at prices that undercut the large supermarkets.[4]

The chief executive of Conviviality Retail is Diana Hunter.[4]

History

The company originates from a wholesale wine and spirits business founded by Allan Whittle and Robert Mayor.[3] In 1981, they opened their first retail outlet in Sandbach in Cheshire.[6] The first Bargain Booze franchise opened in 1988, and was the first time the "Bargain Booze" fascia was used.[7][8]

Whittle and Mayor sold the company to BWG, the Irish food distribution company, in 2000, which was bought out by Electra Partners in 2002.[3] A management buyout backed by a private equity firm, ECI Partners, took over the company for £63.5 million in 2006.[9] ECI remained the majority shareholder until July 2013 when the company floated on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

With the collapse of First Quench Retailing, the owner of the Threshers off licence chain in November 2010, Bargain Booze became the largest off licence chain in the United Kingdom.[9]

In September 2013, the company acquired the Wine Rack chain, an off licence chain that specialises in retailing wine, with its 22 outlets mostly located in London and the South East of England.[10]

In December 2013, the company launched its first television advertising campaign.[11]

References