Nowadays, few people aged under 50 will even recognise the name ‘Fine Fare.’ However, from the late 1950s right through to the mid-1970s, it was Britain’s third-largest supermarket chain after Sainsbury and Tesco, and its distinctive branding was a familiar sight on the high street alongside these two and other familiar names of the era.
Founded in Welwyn Garden City in 1951 as an offshoot of the local department store, Fine Fare had 200 shops nationwide by 1962. The following year it was bought by Associated British Foods, with further expansion following throughout the 1960s and by 1970 annual turnover had risen from £75million to £200million. They had food distribution depots at Welwyn Garden City, East Kilbride, Washington (Tyne and Wear) Cheadle Hulme, Hucknall, Tuffley (Gloucestershire) and Aylesford in Kent. Fine Fare also owned the Shopper’s Paradise brand which had a separate distribution network with depots at East Kilbride, Weedon, Stevenage and Alton, while Fine Fare Washington also held stocks of non-food items for national distribution.
Fine Fare was sold in 1986 to the Dee Corporation who already owned the Gateway chain of supermarkets. Over the next twoand Somerfield was subsequently absorbed by the Co-op. Fine Fare can, however, claim a few firsts; back in 1959 they successfully defeated Brighton Council in court when the latter tried to enforce Wednesday early closing. Later, they became Britain’s first supermarket chain to offer a basic own-brand range and, in 1984, they were the first supermarket with a range of organic products.
