A symbol group is a form of franchise of

convenience shop A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lottery t ...

s, found primarily in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. 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 Centra is a convenience shop chain that operates throughout Ireland. The chain operates as a symbol group owned by Musgrave Group, the food wholesaler, meaning the individual shops are all owned by individual franchisees. The chain has three ...

Groups

Symbol groups include: *

* SuperValu * Mace * Spar *

Gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush * Gala (singer), Italian singer and songwriter *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman * GALA Choruses, an association of ...

* Best-one,

Bargain Booze Bargain Booze is a chain of off licence shops, that operates in the United Kingdom. Established in 1981 in Sandbach, it grew to 836 shops and established the Bargain Booze Select Convenience shop franchise. From 2013 to April 2018, it was o ...

and Wine Rack (part of

Bestway Wholesale Bestway Wholesale Holdings Limited is a British Wholesaling, food and drink wholesale business, founded in 1976 by Sir Anwar Pervez. The business also owns a number of Symbol group, symbol retail identities, including Best-one, Costcutter, Bar ...

) *

Costcutter Costcutter is a convenience shop symbol group operating as two separate entities with different ownerships in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It previously had stores in Poland. The shops are independently owned and join the gro ...

- 2,600 shops (part of

, supplied by Cooperative Group until 2026) *

Nisa NISA may refer to: * National Independent Soccer Association, a third tier United States soccer league * National Intelligence and Security Agency of Somalia * Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, part of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade a ...

- 2,400 shops (part of

The Co-operative Group The Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op and formerly known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses, including grocery retail and wholesale, leg ...

) *

Premier Stores Premier is a symbol group in the United Kingdom established in 1994, with over 3,000 stores nationwide. Tesco took ownership of the brand in 2018 after its purchase of Booker Group. Premier stores are generally convenience shops, stocking brand ...

- 3,400 shops (part of

Booker Group Booker Group Limited is a British wholesale distributor, and subsidiary of Tesco plc. In January 2017, it was announced that the British multinational supermarket retailer Tesco had agreed to purchase the company for £3.7 billion. It was con ...

) * Londis and

Budgens Budgens Stores Limited, trading as Budgens, is a chain of grocery stores in the United Kingdom. The business was founded in 1872 by John Budgen, who opened the first shop in Maidenhead, Berkshire and was incorporated as a private limited compan ...

- 1,800 shops (part of

) Booker Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

Market

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

purchased Booker and the

Co-operative Group The Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op and formerly known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses, including grocery retail and wholesale, leg ...

purchased Nisa.

References

Convenience stores Business models Franchises Purchasing consortia Convection {{Org-stub

Groups

Market

See also

References