Depots: regional depots 2

Hoddesdon opened in 1962 as a specialist centre for the distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables. The depot was conveniently situated for deliveries from the growers of the Lea valley and specialist transport company W.J. Sims provided daily deliveries by 7.30 a.m. to each of the self-service branches with fresh produce departments. The depot later included non-foods such as soaps and detergents, which needed to be stored separately to avoid contamination of food.

Sainsbury's first purpose-built depot at Basingstoke, which opened in 1964 included new facilities for handling chilled and frozen foods. Packing lines were set up for frozen lamb, bacon and cheese and some Sainsbury brand groceries. Quality control laboratories were also provided to enforce standards of accuracy and hygiene.

The Basingstoke depot also included modern kilns, which enabled much of the work previously undertaken at the Blackfriars bacon stoves to be transferred there. This enabled ready-packed bacon to be sent direct to self-service branches, so that less space was needed for preparation areas in the branches.

Both the packing and refrigeration plants made use of innovative design and patented technology. When the Basingstoke facilities opened they were acknowledged to be the most advanced in the world. At that time the 350,000 square foot premises were roughly equal in size to the combined sales area of all Sainsbury's branches.

Sainsbury's fourth depot was opened in December 1969 at a former bottle plant by the Thames at Charlton. The new depot served the eighty branches in London and South East which still received their goods from Blackfriars. Its location near the Blackfriars headquarters meant that it could still be visited frequently by the buyers. The establishment of Charlton depot completed the decentralisation of Sainsbury's distribution and brought the total floor area of Sainsbury's depots to over 1.5 million square feet.