Sainsbury’s has reopened a store in Croydon that was its original model of a self-service supermarket.
Here is how The Grocer reported the opening of Sainsbury’s self-service store in Croydon on 8 July 1950:
The Sainsbury branch at 9/11, London road, West Croydon, has been converted into a self-service store on the lines of the American “supermarket.”
Much of the equipment has been produced to the design and specification of the firm’s development and research departments. The entrance vestibule is attractive with floral decorations, and embodies a pram park, whilst all fitments and stock are well off the tiled floor. The shop gives an impression of spaciousness and airiness and has adequate natural and artificial lighting. The finishings of floor, walls and fittings are in pleasantly harmonised colours, and the rear of the ground floor is occupied by an office and service room, each of which is placed behind a walnut screen.
Storage and preparation are below the shop, and occupy a similar amount of space, and all surfaces, walls, floor and ceiling are of an impervious nature. There are chilled rooms for meat, provisions and dairy products, with deep-freeze storage for frozen foods and ice cream. Goods are received on arrival into the service room and here they are prepared for sale in various ways, the majority reaching the ground floor by means of a belt conveyor. Hygiene has obviously been considered as being of paramount importance.
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