Alldays (supermarket)
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Convenience stores |
| Predecessor | Watson & Philip |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | David Bremner (as CEO at rebranding) |
| Fate | Acquired by The Co-operative Group |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Key people | David Bremner (CEO, 1995), Colin Glass (CEO, 1997), David Clapham (MD Retail, 2000) |
| Products | Convenience store retailing |
| Parent | Watson & Philip (until renamed Alldays), then The Co-operative Group (from 2002) |
Alldays was a convenience store chain operating in the United Kingdom, primarily located in south-east England and Scotland throughout the 1990s.
Early history
Originating from Dundee-based Watson & Philip, a company specializing in convenience retail and food distribution, Alldays was developed as the firm transitioned from managing Spar and VG contracts to establishing its own branded outlets. In February 1993, Watson & Philip purchased the Circle K chain, consisting of approximately 200 stores, from American proprietors for £21 million. The Alldays brand was introduced in September 1995 under CEO David Bremner, who rebranded all existing stores and set a goal to launch 100 additional locations in 1996. Although this expansion target was achieved, the company issued a profit warning in October 1996 due to difficulties within its foodservice division.
Even with swift expansion, revenue growth did not keep pace with the increase in store numbers. In 1997, Colin Glass assumed the role of CEO and succeeded in enhancing like-for-like sales performance. He also negotiated an agreement with Total S.A. to establish Alldays outlets at as many as 250 petrol stations across the UK.
By the end of 1997, Alldays operated 759 shops; out of these, 300 were managed via 31 regional development companies where franchise partners invested £100,000 each and could oversee up to 40 stores per region, supported financially by the parent group.
In 1998, Alldays expanded further by acquiring Walter Willson's competing chain, adding 48 stores situated in northeast England and near the Scottish border. That year also saw the opening of 152 new outlets, bringing the total number of stores to 959.
Restructuring
Watson & Philip divested its Foodservice catering supply division to Brake Bros in October 1998, allowing the company to concentrate almost entirely on its Alldays convenience stores. At an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on October 30, approval was granted to rename the business as Alldays. Following the £38 million sale of W&P Foodservice, the company retained only its convenience retail operations alongside its Trademarket cash-and-carry enterprise.
In 2000, David Clapham, formerly a board director at Sainsbury's, joined as managing director of retail but left after one year. He implemented price promotion strategies aimed at increasing sales volumes; however, these initiatives did not yield improved results and contributed to a disappointing second half-year performance. The group’s shares fell to their lowest level in five years after reporting full-year pre-tax losses amounting to £64 million, partly due to expenses incurred in repurchasing stores previously operated by regional development companies. To reduce debt levels in 2001, Alldays sold 32 outlets to competitor Costcutter Supermarkets Group.
Sale
After disclosing an interim pre-tax loss of £4.6 million in June 2002—exacerbated by escalating interest expenses—Alldays effectively sought a buyer for its core business. In October 2002, The Co-operative Group acquired Alldays for £131 million.