Scotland

Sainsbury’s had first crossed the border to Scotland in October 1984, with the opening of the sixth Savacentre hypermarket in Edinburgh.

The store formed part of a large shopping complex at Cameron Toll on the edge of the city and had a sales area of 68,000 square feet.  It employed 650 local people and featured a large mural representing aspects of Edinburgh's cultural and architectural history.

The first Sainsbury's supermarket opened in Darnley, Glasgow, in March 1993, almost a decade after the Edinburgh Savacentre. By the time this store had opened, Sainsbury’s was already planning more Scottish stores, including a site at Blackhall in Edinburgh.

The Darnley store was opened by JD Sainsbury and celebrated with a cake iced by Jane Asher. The previous month, a time capsule had been buried at the store to commemorate the landmark branch in Sainsbury’s history.

Children from local schools Darnley Primary and Eastwood High School put forward ideas for the capsule’s content which included a Sainsbury’s receipt, new products and ten copies of the staff magazine ‘JS Journal’.

Links were quickly forged between the store and local community, including work with schools and charity fundraising. Sainsbury’s also donated equipment to the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.