Overview

The first Sainsbury's shop in Drury Lane was a small dairy, selling just butter, eggs, milk and later cheese. In 1875 imported Irish bacon was added to the goods on sale, and soon Danish bacon and Canadian Beaver Brand were also sold.

The Croydon branch which opened in 1882 was targeted at middle class customers and sold a wider range of speciality products. The later acquisition of Sainsbury's warehouse and kitchens at Blackfriars established Sainsbury's as a cooked meats manufacturer and 'high class provision merchant'. The company's entry in the 1893 Post Office Street Directory read: 'Sainsbury, John, provision merchant and agent, bacon drier and pork butcher etc., 11 Stamford Street SE and retail cheesemonger… game dealer… and dairy'.

In 1903, basic groceries such as tea, coffee and sugar were introduced and shops included full grocery departments from 1920. A typical pre-war store had departments for dairy, cooked meats, fresh meats, bacon and ham, poultry and game and packaged groceries.

The product range expanded with the introduction of self-service stores - the Lewisham store, which was a superstore of its time, stocked around 950 lines.

Since then there has been huge expansion in all product areas, but particularly non-foods and convenience foods. In 1982, Sainsbury's new Nine Elms store sold 7,500 product lines: today it is 30,000. Within larger supermarkets, service counters have returned for meat, delicatessen and bakery goods.

Specific ranges for low fat, gluten-free, organic foods have led to the development of modern sub-brands such as SO Organic, Be Good To Yourself and Taste the Difference.

Download a table showing the approximate number of product lines sold by Sainsbury's from 1870 to 1995 (PDF 10kb)