News
Sainsbury's confirms commitment to Scotland at the Royal Highland Show
June 25, 2010
- Sainsbury's to open 6 more supermarkets before 2012 creating up to 2,100 new jobs
- Over £600 million of Scottish products sourced annually
Mike Coupe, Sainsbury's trading director, today confirmed Sainsbury's continued commitment to Scotland during a breakfast at The Royal Highland Show. The breakfast, which was attended by suppliers and Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead MSP, highlighted not only Sainsbury's exciting expansion plans for Scotland but also its commitment to sourcing the very best Scottish produce.
At the breakfast Sainsbury's confirmed plans to open a further six supermarkets in Scotland before 2012 creating up to 2,100 new full and part-time jobs. The new stores will build upon Sainsbury's existing 43 stores in Scotland, the latest of which was a new ‘Local' that opened this week in the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh creating 25 new jobs.
Every year Sainsbury's sources over £600 million of Scottish products from 140 suppliers with around 1,500 Scottish products available at Sainsbury's stores across Britain. Around 100 of these lines have launched in the last year as a result of Sainsbury's dedicated Scottish buying team.
Sainsbury's is also a signatory of the Scottish Government Retailers' Charter. This means that Sainsbury's is committed to promoting a better food culture in Scotland that thrives on quality, health, wellbeing and environmental sustainability.
Sainsbury's Trading Director, Mike Coupe, continued: "We are committed to creating more space for Scottish products in our stores and our ambitious plans to open new stores will allow us to do this. New stores also mean new jobs: we already employ 6,000 people in Scotland and we look forward to recruiting for new jobs over the next two years."
Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "The Retailers' Charter we unveiled at last year's Royal Highland Show and follow-up actions are clearly delivering impressive results. More Scottish produce is being stocked in response to growing consumer demand and awareness - that is good for our health, the environment and the economy."
"I am delighted that Sainsbury's is committed to our iconic produce and laying the foundations for future success by creating thousands of new jobs."
"Sainsbury's is sourcing over £600 million worth of Scottish produce a year and 100 new Scottish lines were launched in the past 12 months alone. We are determined to continue working with retailers and the supply chain to strengthen Scotland's reputation as a land of food and drink and build on this momentum."
Members of Sainsbury's Try Team will also be at The Royal Highland Show this week showcasing the very best in Scottish products and recipes.
Enquiries
For further information please contact Tom Parker on 0207 695 7295. Find out the latest from the Sainsbury's corporate site or follow J Sainsbury plc on Twitter.
Notes to editors
- Sainsbury's currently has 44 stores in Scotland - 30 supermarkets and 14 convenience stores
- The six new Sainsbury's stores are Hawick - 250 jobs, Prestwick - 250 jobs, Kelso - 300 jobs, Livingston - 500 jobs, Nairn - 300 jobs and Irvine - 500 jobs
- Sainsbury's stores across Scotland serve over 580,000 customers a week
- Sainsbury's is also the UK's largest retailer of Scottish salmon
- Sainsbury's five Corporate Responsibility values are: "Best for food and health", "Sourcing with Integrity", "Respect for the Environment", "Making a Positive Difference to the Community" and "A Great Place to Work"
