Superdrug
Encyclopedia
Superdrug Stores PLC is Britain's second-largest beauty and health retailer behind Boots
Boots UK
Boots UK Limited , is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country...

. Superdrug - part of the AS Watson Group which in turn is part of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world's biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14...

 - is a UK based company with over 890 stores, which since 2006, includes the Republic of Ireland. The Company has two large Distribution Centres, one in Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...

 and one in Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...

. Both Distribution Centres serve Superdrug, Savers
Savers (UK)
Savers Health & Beauty is a discount chain based in the UK retailing a variety of health, beauty, household goods and medicines, alongside a range of fine fragrances....

 and The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop is a United Kingdom perfume retailer founded in 1992. The company was acquired by the world's largest health and beauty retailer, A.S. Watson Group in 2005. The company is based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, with two distribution centres: one in Dunstable which serves The...

. The chain employs 16,000 people. Every store has a fragrance offer and over 220 stores include pharmacies with pharmacy consultation rooms. Additionally 19 stores contain nurse clinics offering health checks for lots of people every day.

History

Superdrug was founded in 1961, under the name of Leading Supermarkets Limited, by the Goldstein brothers in London, both of whom had experience working in the grocery retail industry. The business kept this name until 1966 when it was officially changed to Superdrug. It was in the same year that the company opened their first outlet in Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

The chain grew rapidly and expanded to a chain of 40 stores by the early 1970s and in 1971, The Rite Aid
Rite Aid
Rite Aid is a drugstore chain in the United States and a Fortune 500 company headquartered in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, near Camp Hill. Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S....

 Corporation, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 drugstore
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

 chain, acquired 49% of the business.

In 1981, there were 300 Superdrug stores in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and they opened their 11,148 m² (120,000 ft²) distribution centre and office complex at Beddington Lane in Croydon
London Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...

. This particular distribution centre closed in July 2007 and the southern distribution operation moved to Dunstable, although the head office remains in Croydon. The northern distribution operates from Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...

.

In 1983 the business was floated on London's Unlisted Securities Market
Unlisted Securities Market
The Unlisted Securities Market , which ran from 1980 to 1996, was a stock exchange set up by the London Stock Exchange to cater for companies too small to qualify for a full listing....

 stock
market.

In 1987, Superdrug was sold to Woolworth Holdings (now known as Kingfisher plc
Kingfisher plc
Kingfisher plc is a multinational retailing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest home improvement retailer in Europe and the third-largest in the world...

) for £57 million. This allowed accelerated growth of the brand through utilization of Kingfisher's surplus high street property portfolio and substantial financial assets. In this year Superdrug acquired Tip-Top, a discount drugstore chain which had a large presence in the north of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and ShareDrug, a southern based chain. These acquisitions and a continually aggressive expansion programme saw the chain grow to 600 outlets throughout the UK.

Superdrug continued to grow over the next 8 years increasing profitability and market share. In 1995, the company began a rebranding programme which saw it leave behind its discount heritage and move upmarket, with a new corporate identity - under the banner "the real beauty is the price" — and new larger stores in prime retail locations.

This led to a marked increase in prices in order to fund a higher cost base. This left the chain vulnerable to attack from new discount chains such as Savers
Savers (UK)
Savers Health & Beauty is a discount chain based in the UK retailing a variety of health, beauty, household goods and medicines, alongside a range of fine fragrances....

 and Wilkinson, who were rapidly expanding at the time and the supermarkets such as Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

 and Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...

 who were growing their presence in the high margin non-food sector.

Facing increasing pressure from supermarkets and new discount chains Superdrug was sold to Kruidvat
Kruidvat
Kruidvat is a Dutch retail, pharmacy, health and beauty chain which also has branches in Belgium. The first Kruidvat was opened in 1975 by Dick Siebrand. In addition to Kruidvat itself, Kruidvat Holding also owned ICI Paris XL and Trekpleister in the Netherlands and Belgium...

, a drugstore operator from continental Europe to allow Kingfisher to focus on its DIY and electrical chains.

Kruidvat was subsequently sold to AS Watson
Watson's
Watson's or Watson's is part of the Health and Beauty retail and consumer division of the Hong Kong-based A.S. Watson Group, which in turn is part of the world wide conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd...

, the retail and manufacturing business of the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...

 Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world's biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14...

 in 2002. AS Watson are also the parent company of Savers
Savers (UK)
Savers Health & Beauty is a discount chain based in the UK retailing a variety of health, beauty, household goods and medicines, alongside a range of fine fragrances....

, the UK's number three drugstore chain.

In 2003, Superdrug, in conjunction with WHAM, Hutchison Whampoa's International Brand and Creative Group (behind brands such as PowWow and Orange
Orange SA
Orange is the brand used by France Télécom for its mobile network operator and Internet service provider subsidiaries. It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world, with 210 million customers . The brand was created in 1994 for Hutchison Telecom's UK mobile phone network, which was...

), launched another rebranding campaign which saw all stores being rebranded in the new "you star" style.

As part of the rebrand, a store-by-store review was conducted of both Superdrug and Savers stores. As a result, several of Superdrug's smaller stores were converted into Savers
Savers
Savers, Inc. headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, is a privately held for-profit thrift store chain offering secondhand shopping. An international company, Savers has more than 200 locations throughout the United States, Canada and Australia, and receives its merchandise by paying cash to...

, and approximately 200 Savers stores were converted into branches of Superdrug.

In 2006, Superdrug entered the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, and began rolling out its "next generation" stores, the first of which opened in Uxbridge. These focussed on cosmetics and fragrance above all else, and used plasma screens throughout the store. Superdrug announced their intention to create 150 more next generation stores in 2008.

In 2007 as well as the chain of stores having grown to over 900, it was announced that Superdrug was the largest growing fragrance retailer in the UK. Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook is an English model, actress, entrepreneur, television presenter and Playboy model.-Early life:...

 and the Beckhams both launched new perfumes in Superdrug stores.

Present Day

In February 2010 Superdrug became a BUAV approved retailer, joining several other high street chains in pledging its own brand products will be free from animal testing. This does not however cover products made by other brands sold in store.

Superdrug was a leading lobbyist in a 10 month campaign lobbying the UK Government to lower VAT on Condoms, the campaign was successful, resulting in VAT being lowered from 17.5% to 5% on condoms in 2006.

Over the past five years the company has worked with a number of charities. These included: The Prince's Trust, Institute of Cancer Research, The Teenage Cancer Trust and Cancer Research UK. Since 2006 raising over £1 Million for its nominated good causes.

Superdrug also signed up to the Governments skills pledge, to ensure that all the young people who work for the Company, have received the necessary vocational and educational skills through a modern apperenticeships scheme, Superdrug aims to provide this throughout its unique Team Academy Programme.

Superdrug also launched its £1 value cosmetics range 'Make Up Academy' (MUA) earlier in the year at certain stores. The range was successful and is set to make it into more stores later in the year.

Superdrug also celebrated 20 years of high street trade in Northern Ireland in 2010.

The company has stated that they plan to relaunch and refocus their own-brand products in 2010.

In October Superdrug plan to launch their first television advertising campaign for 10 years in a bid for customers to rediscover the brand for Christmas 2010.

It was announced on the 3rd August 2010, that Superdrug will cut the cost of Private Prescriptions. This means that consumers could make a possible saving of £4.70 on a private prescription originally costing £28.20. Superdrug has suggested other Pharmacies follow suit.

Superdrug are going into partnership with sister company The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop is a United Kingdom perfume retailer founded in 1992. The company was acquired by the world's largest health and beauty retailer, A.S. Watson Group in 2005. The company is based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, with two distribution centres: one in Dunstable which serves The...

 by trialing shop in shop consessions. The partnership will be trialied in 11 Superdrug Stores, including; Aylesbury, Milton Keynes, Bury, Glasgow, Westfield London and Kensington High Street.

On 12 August 2010, Superdrug announced it was launching an Overnight Miracle serum. The Swiss Apple formula is part of Superdrug's own label range, Optimum. The formula originally only available in high end beauty ranges, ranging from £122 to £225. Superdrug's version contains the same ingerdients as the more expensive ranges and will cost just £9.99 when first launched and will rise to £14.99 in October.

In October Superdrug launch their first Television advertising campaign for 10 years. On the 3rd September 2010 Superdrug, announced they had signed a deal with Joanna Page the star of Gavin & Stacey, to make her the face of Superdrug. The campaign will be brand focused and not just about the products, and will run from October 1 through, and into 2011 with Christmas variations, and possibly further if the campaign is a success.

On 2 December 2010, Superdrug opened its first Bureau de Change, the consession opened in Superdrug's Liverpool Store in an aim to get customers to get everything they need for their Vacation under one roof.

On March 2, 2011 Superdrug came 4th in consumer poll carried out by Verdict Research. Superdrug came in the top five UK retailers according to the survey carried out on more than 6000 consumers, naming Superdrug the best for Personal Care. The top spot was taken by Department Store John Lewis
John Lewis
John Lewis may refer to:* John Lewis Partnership, a United Kingdom worker co-operative retailer** John Lewis , a department store chain in the United Kingdom-Politics:...

, closely followed by Ikea
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...

 and Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...

.

Take Another Look

On October 1, 2010, the Take Another Look campaign was launched by Superdrug to encourage customers to "Take Another Look" at the company. The idea of the campaign is to prove that the company has changed. The campaign includes the company's first television advert for 10 years, fronted by the new face of Superdrug, Joanna Page, star of Gavin and Stacey. There will also be radio adverts and also in store to create maximum effect in order for the campaign to be a success. This brings in line the company's aim to be the best in everyday accessible beauty.

Superdrug is to make 2011 all about its customer, after announcing sales were up 1.7% in the four weeks to January 1, 2011. Superdrug will launch its first loyalty programme on May 11, 2011, in a bid to get to know their customer better and reward their customers for their loyalty. The card scheme will enable customers to earn and redeem points online and in-store. This brings the company in line with other AS Watson companies who also have their own loyalty cards, which boasts 35 million members world wide.

Superdrug are launching a new store format on March 25, 2011. As part of the 'Take Another Look' campaign, this is to help cement Superdrug as the Best in Everyday Accessible Beauty. The New look store is situated in the Centre Court Shopping Centre in Wimbledon. The store has been sectioned into different zones and designed by Dalziel+Pow. Ten further locations will see the new format by the end of April 2011, and others will follow by the end of the year.

In 2011, Superdrug and its sister company The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop is a United Kingdom perfume retailer founded in 1992. The company was acquired by the world's largest health and beauty retailer, A.S. Watson Group in 2005. The company is based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, with two distribution centres: one in Dunstable which serves The...

 will strengthen their ties even further by expanding on their shop-in-shop format. 11 shop in shop formats were launched last year, and in 2011 50 more locations will be added to the scheme. The trail proved such a huge success for both companies, raising awareness of both companies and attracting new customers. Also as Superdrug launches its Beauty Card in May, The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop is a United Kingdom perfume retailer founded in 1992. The company was acquired by the world's largest health and beauty retailer, A.S. Watson Group in 2005. The company is based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, with two distribution centres: one in Dunstable which serves The...

 will follow suit and also launch their own loyalty scheme, also in the form of points card. Both card schemes will be linked, possibly allowing customers to earn and spend points in both stores, but no formal details have been released yet.

On March 25, 2011, Superdrug launched a new concept store in the Centre Court Shopping Centre, Wimbledon. The new concept store designed by Dalziel & Pow takes its format straight from the fast-paced fashion market, reflecting trends and High-street fashion rather than trying to compete with competitors. The store is modern, fresh and lively, and has been sectioned into different zones: Make Up, Skin Care, Beauty, Hair, Mens, Everyday, Food and Health. The pharmacy has been made over to include a consultation room for more privacy for patients.

Beauty Card

Superdrug will launch their first reward card on 11th May, 2011. The reward scheme will be launched with a full Television Advertising campaign starring, the face of Superdrug, Joanna Page. This will form part of Superdrug's 'Take Another Look' campaign and is another step toward the company becoming the Best in everyday accessible beauty. The card scheme will allow cutomers to earn and redeem points online and in store, gaining 1 point per pound spent.

On May 11, 2011, Superdrug launched their first reward card called, The Beautycard. The card has been launched as part of the 'Take Another Look' campaign, which has been at the heart of the companies marketing strategy since October 2010. Just two weeks after the launch of the Beautycard, the company launched it's new television advertising campaign to promote the Beautycard, featuring the tales of Brand Ambassador Joanna Page star of Gavin and Stacey. And on May 27, 2011 Superdrug announced they had signed up 1 million customers to its loyalty card scheme.

Dare Magazine

Superdrug's Dare Magazine has recently under gone a major makeover, which brings it in line with the companies "Take Another Look" Campaign. The Magazine is distributed in-store and on the street's of London for free. On February 10, 2011, Superdrug announced that the magazine would be the first UK customer magazine to use digital watermarking technology. Readers will be able to use their smartphone to view interactive video content and access exclusive news and tips by scanning digital watermarks embedded in the magazine.

Exclusive to Superdrug

This is a list of some of the brands which are exclusive to Superdrug stores (some ranges only available at selected stores) .
  • Accessorize
  • Andrea Fullerton
  • Gosh
  • Me Me Me
  • NYC Cosmetics
  • Bloom
  • Beauty UK
  • 2 True
  • Scarlett & Crimson By Ruby & Millie
  • Famous by Sue Moxley
  • Fudge Urban
  • Make Up Academy (MUA)
  • Optimum
  • Vitamin E
  • Natural High
  • Naturals
  • Deep Action
  • Solait
  • Simply Pure
  • Colour Sensations
  • Colour Performance
  • Colour Vibrance
  • Colour Radiancene
  • True Spirit
  • The Beauty Parlour
  • Scandalous
  • Sinless Sun
  • Miss Cole
  • I Love...
  • Sleek
  • Naked Truth By Dr Darren McKeown
  • Naked Natural Skin Care

Controversies

In December 2007 Superdrug was forced to withdraw a women's punch bag following complaints from anti-domestic violence campaigners. The man shaped product encouraged women to insert a photo of a male in the punch bag's face and had an arrow pointing at the groin stating - "kick him here". The Mankind Initiative said it was disgraceful that a national retailer like Superdrug should be openly selling products encouraging domestic violence against men. Following the complaints the retailer withdrew the product immediately and promised to donate any profits from sales of the item to domestic violence charity The Mankind Initiative
Mankind Initiative
The ManKind Initiative is a domestic violence charity based in the United Kingdom and is at the forefront of providing support for male victims of domestic abuse and violence...

.

Marketing Initiatives

Recently, Superdrug have undergone a huge experiential marketing campaign, holding product demonstrations throughout their stores. This campaign commenced after research proved that 89% of shoppers want to try something before they buy it and over 80% who take part in such demonstrations either make a purchase, or consider making a purchase after participating. Bourjois, Aveeno
Aveeno
Aveeno is a manufacturer of skin care and hair care products in the United States and is a subsidiary of American consumer goods and pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. Aveeno was founded in 1945, and its first product was their Soothing Bath Treatment...

 and L'Oréal
L'Oréal
The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...

 products have all been demonstrated in this way.

Awards and Acclaims

2011
  • UK's Best for Personal Care (Verdict Research
    Verdict Research
    Verdict Research is a United Kingdom-based company founded by retail analyst Richard Hyman in 1984. It conducts research into all aspects of retailing and consumers producing both syndicated publications and tailored consulting projects and is headquartered in London.Verdict specialises in analysis...

    )
  • A Top Five UK Retailer (Verdict Research
    Verdict Research
    Verdict Research is a United Kingdom-based company founded by retail analyst Richard Hyman in 1984. It conducts research into all aspects of retailing and consumers producing both syndicated publications and tailored consulting projects and is headquartered in London.Verdict specialises in analysis...

    )

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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