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Costcutter

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Costcutter
Company typeFranchising
IndustryRetail
Founded1986; 38 years ago (1986)
Headquarters
Number of locations
1,700[1]
Area served
ProductsGrocer's shop, convenience shops
ParentBarry Group (Costcutter Ireland)
Bestway Wholesale (Costcutter UK)
Subsidiaries
Website
Costcutter shop in Deptford, London

Costcutter is a chain of convenience shops, supermarkets and off-licences that operates in Ireland, Great Britain and Poland. The chain operates primarily as a symbol group and is owned by Barry Group in the Republic of Ireland and by Bestway Wholesale in the United Kingdom.[2][3]

In the UK, the group owns the Costcutter, Kwik Save, Supershop, and Simply Fresh brands.

History

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Costcutter was founded in 1986, by Colin Graves.[4]

In 2000, the brand entered the Irish market as a separate business under the ownership of Barry Group.

By 2006, there were some 1,400 shops under the Costcutter brand,[4] with the majority of shops being in the United Kingdom, and 120 shops in Ireland and 52 in Poland.[5]

A proposed merger with Nisa-Today's collapsed in November 2006, after concerns about a cartel.[4] which were reported to the Office of Fair Trading by members of Nisa-Today's, who opposed the merger.[6]

Costcutter revived the Kwik Save brand in 2012, from a separate chain which had ceased trading.[7]

In 2018, The Co-Op Group made an offer of £15 million in an attempt to take ownership of Costcutter. The bid was rejected, but it was believed the Costcutter was open to further talks.[8] The Co-op subsequently became the sole supplier to the Costcutter group.[9]

In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Costcutter built 20 pop-up shops in NHS hospitals.[10]

In December 2020, Costcutter's UK business was acquired by the wholesaler Bestway. The Co-op supply agreement continues.[11] Its Irish business remains in the ownership of Barry Group.[3]

In 2024, Costcutter Ireland ditched its previous logo with a new one, still different from the one in the UK.

References

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  1. ^ "About Us!". Costcutter.co.uk. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  2. ^ "What is Costcutter?". Costcutter.com. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  3. ^ a b "About Costcutter Ireland". Costcutter.ie.
  4. ^ a b c "Nisa's chairman to step down", Yorkshire Post, 2 November 2006
  5. ^ "Local retailers planning merger", BBC News, 10 May 2006
  6. ^ "Nisa-Costcutter deal collapses". Talkingretail.com. 23 October 2006.
  7. ^ "Costcutter begins a new era with Kwiksave". Thegrocer.co.uk.
  8. ^ "Co-op rebuffed after £15m takeover raid on struggling Costcutter". Sky News. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Co-op and Costcutter Supermarkets Group announce wholesale agreement". Co-operative.coop. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  10. ^ Nazir, Sahar (7 April 2020). "Costcutter launches 20 pop-up stores in NHS hospitals". Retailgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Bestway snaps up Costcutter for undisclosed fee". The Grocer. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

Other sources

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