Superdrug Stores plc (trading as Superdrug) is a health and beauty retailer in the United Kingdom, and the second largest behind
Boots UK
Boots UK Limited (formerly Boots the Chemists Limited) is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain that operates in the United Kingdom. It also operates internationally, including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand ...
. The company is owned by AS Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Limited which is part of the
A.S. Watson Group. It was acquired as part of the buyout of Kruidvat BV in October 2002. The A.S Watson Group is itself part of the
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
conglomerate
CK Hutchison Holdings
CK Hutchison Holdings Limited () is a Hong Kong–based and Cayman Islands–registered multinational conglomerate corporation. The company was formed in March 2015 through the merger of Cheung Kong Holdings and its main associate company Hutc ...
.
Superdrug trades from nearly nine hundred shops across the United Kingdom and Ireland, and also serves Denmark, Finland and Sweden online. The company employs over 14,000. Besides offering health and beauty products online and in shops, there are pharmacies with consultation rooms in over 220 shops, and a further 19 contain nurse clinics. It maintains links with sister companies also owned by A.S. Watson Group:
Savers and
The Perfume Shop.
History
Origins and expansion
In 1964, Superdrug was incorporated under the name Leading Supermarkets Limited by the Goldstein brothers in London, both of whom had experience working in the groceries retail industry. Later that year the business adopted the present name. The first Superdrug shop opened in
Putney
Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ...
, London on 26 April 1966.
By 1968, there were three shops trading in Putney,
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
and Streatham. In the same year Superdrug acquired its first
distribution centre
A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to con ...
, in Wimbledon. The chain grew rapidly, and expanded to a chain of forty shops by the beginning of the 1970s. In 1971, The Rite Aid Corporation, an American chemist chain, acquired 49% of the business.
By 1981, there were three hundred Superdrug shops in the United Kingdom, and they opened their 11,148 m
2 (120,000 ft
2) distribution centre and office complex at Beddington Lane near Croydon, Superdrug's head office is still based in Croydon having recently moved to a more central location. This centre closed in July 2007, and the southern distribution operation moved to
Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fou ...
, with the head office moving to new offices in central Croydon in 2017. The northern distribution operates from South Elmsall,
Pontefract
Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...
, West Yorkshire.
In 1983, the business was floated on London's
Unlisted Securities Market
The Unlisted Securities Market (USM), which ran from 1980 to 1996, was a stock exchange set up by the London Stock Exchange to cater for companies too small to qualify for a full listing.
The USM allowed companies to be traded which did not have ...
.
In March 1987, Superdrug was sold to Woolworth Holdings (now known as
Kingfisher plc
Kingfisher plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England.
It has over 1,300 stores in nine countries, and its brands include B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt and Screwfix. Kingfisher i ...
) for £57 million.
[ The sale allowed accelerated growth of the brand through utilisation of Kingfisher's surplus high street property portfolio and substantial financial assets.
In January 1988, Superdrug acquired Tip-Top, a discount chemist chain which had a large presence in the north of ]England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, and Share Drug Stores plc, a southern-based chain. These acquisitions and an aggressive expansion programme saw the chain grow to six hundred outlets throughout the United Kingdom.
Superdrug continued to grow over the next eight years, increasing profitability and market share. The Goldstein brothers would retire from the company by 1990, shortly after its 25th anniversary In 1989, with Alan Smith heading up day-to-day operations shortly thereafter.
In 1995, the company began a rebranding programme, which saw it leave behind its discount heritage and move upmarket, with a new corporate identity (including the introduction of a new star symbol as its logo) – under the banner "the real beauty is the price" – and new larger shops in prime retail locations.
Superdrug decided to relocate their head office in 2017, having spent more than 40 years at Beddington Lane. The company relocated to a more central location in Croydon having declared their love for the town, securing their future in the town, with a bigger and more modern head office to develop the future of the business.
Acquisition
Facing increasing pressure from supermarkets and new discount chains, and following Kingfisher's failed merger attempt with Asda
Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...
(which resulted in Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
acquiring the latter chain), in July 2001, Superdrug was sold to Kruidvat, a chemist operator from continental Europe, to allow Kingfisher to focus on its DIY and Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
chains. It was restructured as a public limited company on 24 July, becoming Superdrug Stores plc, and Kruidvat was subsequently sold to A.S. Watson, the retail and manufacturing business of the Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings
CK Hutchison Holdings Limited () is a Hong Kong–based and Cayman Islands–registered multinational conglomerate corporation. The company was formed in March 2015 through the merger of Cheung Kong Holdings and its main associate company Hutc ...
, formally Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) was an investment holding company based in Hong Kong. It was a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL was an international corporation with a dive ...
, in November 2002.
A.S. Watson is also the parent company of Savers, the United Kingdom's number three chemist chain. Subsequently, several of Superdrug's smaller shops were converted into Savers, and approximately three hundred Savers shops were converted into branches of Superdrug. In 2004, during the company's 40th anniversary, the current logo was introduced, retaining the star motif from the previous logo, but modernising it with the addition of a new cursive wordmark. Signage was also changed with the introduction of the new logo, with stores being branded as "Superdrug HealthBeauty", and the website gaining the tagline "Health & Beauty from A.S. Watson", to signify its new ownership.
In April 2006, Superdrug entered the Irish market, and in Britain began rolling out its "next generation" shops, the first of which opened in Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...
. These focused on cosmetics and fragrance above all else and used plasma screens throughout the shop. Superdrug announced their intention to create 150 more next generation shops in 2008. Since arriving in Ireland, the brand is now also represented in Douglas on the Isle of Man and St Helier on Jersey.
Since 2010
In February 2010, Superdrug became a BUAV approved retailer, joining several other high street chains in pledging its own brand products will be free from animal testing. All Superdrug own label products carry the leaping bunny cruelty free logo. This does not, however, cover products made by other brands that are sold in the shop.
During 2010, Superdrug went into partnership with sister company The Perfume Shop by trialling shop-in-shop concessions. The partnership was tried in eleven shops of Superdrug, including; Aylesbury, Milton Keynes, Bury, Glasgow, Westfield London and Kensington High Street. In January 2018, Superdrug were recognised by the Institute of Customer Service, placing fourth in the United Kingdom for Customer Satisfaction (UKCSI), with Yorkshire Bank
Yorkshire Bank was a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in England.
The Yorkshire Bank was founded in 1859 as the West Riding of Yorkshire Provident Society and Penny Savings Society but the Provident ...
in third, First Direct second, and Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
first.
In September 2015, Superdrug announced the launch of a new app for customers to track their Superdrug Loyalty Points. This app eventually became the Superdrug Shopping App, which allows customers to order retail items from Superdrug branches online.
In May 2017, Superdrug relaunched their own brand "B. Makeup", and in September 2017 made history when they announced British model Georgie Aldous as their first male model in a make-up campaign.
On 22 March 2018, Superdrug opened their first vegan only pop-up shop at Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
’s Boxpark. Superdrug said it was in response to increased demand for plant-based and cruelty-free beauty products. The shop showcases Superdrug's own brand beauty and cosmetic products, and also exclusive branded products that are friendly to vegans.
In August 2018, Superdrug was the subject of a blackmail attempt using data obtained from its website via credential stuffing
Credential stuffing is a type of cyberattack in which the attacker collects stolen account credentials, typically consisting of lists of usernames or email addresses and the corresponding passwords (often from a data breach), and then uses the cr ...
.
Superdrug lost a court case
Legal proceeding is an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that " e term ''legal proceedings'' ...
in December 2019 resulting from words in an email issued by the company's buyer, "Please go ahead with the below", referring to supplier Athena Brand's proposals to supply a minimum quantity of ''Nature's Alchemist'' products. The words were interpreted as creating a contract between the two parties, and by inference appeared to mean that the buyer had authority to enter into such a contract.
In April 2020, it was announced that Superdrug was rolling out a new Pharmacy app to its stores across the UK, in partnership with Healthera. The app allows Superdrug patients to order prescriptions and book services online.
Since 2021, the company sponsors the UK-wide medicine packet recycling programme under which used medicine blister packets can be handed in at 195 Superdrug branches (those with in-store pharmacies), for processing by TerraCycle.
Products
In February 2012, Superdrug went into partnership with Pro Skin Clinics, which enabled Superdrug to offer specialist skincare clinics in their shops. Treatments on offer range from laser hair removal to facials. Superdrug planned to have fifty clinics by the end of 2013, starting with shops on Kensington High Street
Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Kensington High Street is the continuation of Kensington Road and part ...
and Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...
, and then concentrating on recently refurbished shops.
In February 2013, Superdrug ventured into the premium skincare market, by launching a new and exclusive brand called “B”. The brand is cruelty free and vegan. It offers both skincare and make up, and was launched during January to February 2013, accompanied by a multimillion-pound advertising campaign including television advertising, magazine promotion, blogger reviews and a pop up tour around the United Kingdom's largest shopping centres.
In December 2007, Superdrug withdrew a women's punch bag following complaints from anti domestic violence campaigners. The man-shaped product encouraged women to insert a photo of a male in the punch bag's face and had an arrow pointing at the groin stating "kick him here". The ManKind Initiative, a domestic violence charity, said it was disgraceful that a national retailer like Superdrug should be openly selling products encouraging domestic violence against men. Following the complaints, the retailer withdrew the product and promised to donate any profits from sales of the item to the charity.
Superdrug became the first high street retailer in the United Kingdom to offer chickenpox
Chickenpox, also known as varicella ( ), is a highly contagious disease caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), a member of the herpesvirus family. The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which ...
vaccination in 58 of its shops, at a cost of £65 per dose, two doses being required, in July 2017.
Superdrug Mobile
Superdrug Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator
A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobil ...
launched on 20 June 2018 which operates in the United Kingdom using Superdrug's sister company Three
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
's network and is exclusive to members of Superdrug's "Health & Beautycard" loyalty scheme.
Marketing
Advertising
On 1 October 2010, the campaign ''Take Another Look'' was launched by Superdrug to encourage customers to "Take Another Look" at the company, which featured Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page who was also brand ambassador.
On 7 February 2013, Superdrug launched a new marketing and advertising campaign, "That Superdrug Feeling", featuring staff from their shops.
''Dare Magazine''
Superdrug's ''Dare Magazine'' underwent a major makeover, to bring it in line with the company's "Take Another Look" campaign. The Magazine is distributed in-shop and on the streets of London for free. On 10 February 2011, Superdrug announced that the magazine would be the first customer magazine to use digital watermarking technology. Readers will be able to use their smartphone to view interactive video content, and access exclusive news and tips by scanning digital watermarks embedded in the magazine.
Loyalty card
On 11 May 2011, Superdrug launched their first reward card called ''The Beautycard''. The card was launched as part of the ''Take Another Look'' campaign, which has been at the heart of the company's marketing strategy since October 2010. On 27 May 2011, Superdrug announced they had signed up one million customers to the scheme.
In 2015, Superdrug adapted their loyalty card in order to appeal to more of a mass market, renaming it ''Health and Beautycard''. The concept of the card containing a mirror remained but it was redesigned to give a more mature look and feel. The card can be used physically or digitally via the Superdrug mobile app, available on AppStore and Google play.
Podcast
On 2 June 2019, Superdrug released an eight-episode podcast titled 'The Beauty of it All'. KVH Studios worked together with the Superdrug Social and Marketing team, alongside content marketing agency, The River Group, to create and launch an eight-episode series of podcasts, hosted by television and radio presenter Vick Hope, and featuring celebrity guests and industry experts. The podcast took a backstage look at the beauty industry and the issues facing it, covering topics such as how veganism is transforming the beauty world, the latest trends in skincare, and the influence of drag culture and makeup on the high street.
Notes
References
External links
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*
{{Authority control
1971 mergers and acquisitions
1987 mergers and acquisitions
British subsidiaries of foreign companies
Companies formerly listed on the Alternative Investment Market
CK Hutchison Holdings
Pharmacies of the United Kingdom
Pharmacy brands
Retail companies established in 1964