‘Have a loaf on us’ to celebrate One Stop’s 1000th store

Convenience retailer, One Stop, is celebrating the opening of its 1000th store by giving away free loaves of bread for customers*.

In addition, to mark the day, One Stop – a subsidiary of Tesco - is giving away £10,000 to up to ten local community groups in the Wolverhampton area.

As a community retailer, One Stop have always strived to give back to those who have supported their journey. Therefore, each community group will receive a donation of £1,000. For example, Promise Dreams will use the funding to continue their work of granting wishes for terminally ill children. Also, St Alban’s Church will use the grant to support their local food bank.

The 1000th store, which is opening in Wolverhampton** on Friday 17th February is particularly appropriate as One Stop started its journey in the same city, as a simple market stall, nearly half a century ago.

One Stop has been recognised with several industry awards including 2022 ‘Convenience Retailer of the Year’ at the Retail Industry Awards.

Sarah Lawler, One Stop Managing Director, said: “The opening of our 1000th store is a really exciting time for our 10,000 colleagues. It is great to look back at what we’ve achieved and we’re excited about the future.”

“We’d love to invite people into stores to have a ‘loaf on us’ in partnership with Warburtons to celebrate this milestone.”

“Part of this significant achievement is the growth of our franchise business, which, eight years ago didn’t exist. The franchise business continues to build the brand into a stronger entity within the convenience market. How we manage, learn and continue to grow the two businesses in parallel gives us a unique opportunity and I look forward to our next key milestone.”

“Thanks to the dedication of our colleagues and support of our customers, we are also incredibly proud to have donated £10 million to charity in the last ten years. We have always strived to give back to those who live in the communities we serve.”

One Stop supports three national charities and countless regional and community organisations and grassroots initiatives. One Stop has also donated 200,000 foodbank meals and has been working on key programmes to make food more readily available to others. This includes joining initiatives including ‘Too Good to Go’ (https://toogoodtogo.co.uk/en-gb and OLIO (https://olioex.com/get-involved/volunteer/food-waste-heroes/).

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

*One Stop has worked in partnership with Warburtons to offer a free loaf of bread to customers as part of the celebration. Coupons will be offered through some of the leading UK newspapers and customers will be able to redeem these on Saturday 18th February via the coupon in their local One Stop store. While stocks last, subject to availability.
**The new One Stop store is located at 25 – 29 Silverton Way, Wolverhampton WV11 3LL.

History of One Stop

One Stop’s humble beginnings were started by Kevin Threlfall in 1975 as a market stall in Wolverhampton. After five years as a ‘pop up’ shop Threlfall opened his first permanent store ‘Supercigs’ and then joined forces with David Lockett-Smith to become co-founder of ‘T & S Stores’.

The popularity of newsagents gained speed in the 80s and through several acquisitions, T & S gained household names including Dillons and Day + Nite and rapidly grew. In 2002, Tesco purchased T&S convenience stores, Dillons and Supercigs, changing to the brand ‘One Stop’, as it is known today, and its success continued to gain momentum.

Tesco, a business founded originally in 1919, said the acquisition would increase its presence in “neighbourhoods across the country" and bolster its share of a growing market in urban areas. A savvy move as One Stop’s continued expansion has been constant with the franchise division starting in 2014. One Stop has invested £5 million in this portfolio (of 300 stores) alone.

Growth of the brand

Today, One Stop continues to make great strides within the convenience sector, with a number of ‘firsts’ including the first grocery retailer available on the three leading delivery platforms of ‘Deliveroo’, ‘Just Eats’ and ‘Uber Eats’ taking its place amongst top name ‘food to go’ and delivery brands.
One Stop’s ‘Own Label’ products have gained considerable momentum throughout the rise of the brand and it recently launched the ‘Selected by Tesco’ credential. This further drives awareness that it is the home for fresh, quality products that are honestly priced and taps directly into what customers are looking for.

About One Stop

One Stop Stores Limited is a retail convenience business with 1000 company and franchise neighbourhood stores across Great Britain. It employs more than 10,000 colleagues.