A.F. Blakemore
| Private company | |
| Industry | Retail, wholesale and distribution |
| Founded | 1917 |
| Headquarters | Wolverhampton, UK |
Number of locations | 300+ |
| Products | Distribution, wholesale and retail of food and associated products |
Number of employees | 8,000 |
| Divisions | 8 |
| Website |
afblakemore |
A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd is a food retail, wholesale and distribution company, established in 1917, . A.F. Blakemore is the largest SPAR distribution centre in the UK and also the leading member of the Landmark Wholesale group. The company's headquarters are in Willenhall, West Midlands, UK.
Businesses
A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd is divided into several subsidiaries with different emphases and goals:
- Blakemore Retail, which owns and operates over three hundred SPAR stores
- Blakemore Trade Partners, which supports A.F. Blakemore's independently owned SPAR stores
- Blakemore Logistics, which supplies ambient, chilled and frozen goods to all of A.F. Blakemore's company-owned and independent SPAR stores (over 1,050 sites)[1]
- Blakemore Wholesale, which operates nine cash and carry depots and a delivered wholesale function
- Blakemore Foodservice, which delivers catering products to schools, local authorities, public houses and restaurant chains nationwide
- Blakemore Fresh Foods, which is a meat wholesale and distribution company that supplies the retail, foodservice and wholesale sectors
- Blakemore Design and Shopfitting, which specialises in the design and refurbishment of SPAR retail stores
- Blakemore Property, which deals with company site acquisitions and leasings
- Blakemore Fine Foods, which is a Speciality food and drink distribution operation set up especially to aid small, local producers with getting their product to market
History
A.F. Blakemore was started in 1917 as a counter service grocery store by Arthur Blakemore and his wife. After early success, they branched into supplying other groceries, at first with bags and other provisions, later with products for resale.
Arthur Blakemore was followed by his son, Frank, who in turn was followed by his son, Peter Blakemore. The company is still privately owned by the family today.
A.F. Blakemore was one of the first companies involved in symbol group trading in the 1950s and opened some of the very first cash & carry depots in the UK in the 1960s.
In spring 2011 A.F. Blakemore purchased Capper & Co., another regional distributor for SPAR,[2] increasing the shops it services to more than 1000 and its turnover to over £1 billion per year. Since then more than 200 retailers have joined the Retail Plus Scheme.[3]
Notes
- ↑ "Company Overview of A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd.". Businessweek. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ↑ just-food.com (24 March 2011). "UK: A.F. Blakemore buys rival Spar wholesaler Capper & Co.". just-food.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ↑ Elinor Zuke (23 Jun 2012). "AF Blakemore RPS scheme proves a hit". The Grocer. Retrieved 4 July 2012.