"Straight from Sainsbury's" corporate film

Corporate film presented by Valerie Singleton (television presenter). The film was commissioned by Sainsbury's Public Relations Department to replace the earlier corporate film "Sainsbury's to the Rescue". It is a documentary style film showing various aspects of the company's operations including production/sourcing of products, distribution, quality control, pricing, and the operation of stores.

An article about the film is included in JS Journal October 1978 (page 23) which states the film was aimed at "women's groups, teacher-training colleges, home economics teachers and students, sixth formers, and will also be used in staff recruitment and induction". This film was replaced by a new film "Shopping List" in 1984.

Summary: introduction; visit to a pig farm and interview with John Hill (Sainsbury's Pig Supply Controller) about buying good quality pigs while selling pork products at a low price; visit to Haverhill Meat Products plant in Suffolk (jointly owned by Sainsbury's) to see the production process and learn about Sainsbury's sausages; visit to Basingstoke depot, discusses importance of dispatching goods quickly, packaging of cheese; the ordering system and product labelling; quality control at Sainsbury's Research and Scientific Services Division including comments by Dr Roy Spencer (Director of Research); pricing policies including comments by Robert Ingham (Director); the design of new stores; visit to Chippenham store including hygiene standards; staff training; conclusion - the company's standards.

Includes footage of: Kempston store (still image used for opening and closing credits); Chippenham store exterior; sausages and cooked meat display in store; pig farm in Oxfordshire; exterior of Haverhill Meat Products factory and the production of meat products including sausages in the factory; Sainsbury's lorry; Basingstoke depot exterior; staff moving boxes with fork lift trucks at Basingstoke depot; packaging of cheese (Edam) at Basingstoke depot; ordering computer system in operation; use of light pen in store for ordering stock; quality and taste testing by scientists and home economists - yogurts tested in laboratory, tights tested with artificial legs, toilet paper strength testing, canned peas, Hock beer, pork pie, processed cheese, orange juice blind taste testing, peas; in-store bakery counter; a meeting about pricing and quality of yogurt at head office; fresh fruit and vegetables department; architects and designers at work; artists impressions and models of stores; exterior still images of stores; checkouts with customers and staff; staff making bread in the in-store bakery; butcher at work preparing meat in branch; a manager checking shelves; a training session using training video on the La Belle Sentinel 16 system; aisles. The in-store footage is from Chippenham branch.

Duration: 21 minutes. Director: Michael Barratt. Camera: Paul Berriff. Camera Assistant: Chris Goodyear. Sound: Nick Barnett. Produced for J. Sainsbury Ltd by Michael Barratt Ltd.