'JS Journal', December 1997

Table of content

• A Christmas message from the chairman
  02

  A Christmas message from the chairman
  My best wishes to you all for a very happy
  Christmas and my warmest thanks for all that
  you have done for the company throughout
  the year I hope that you and your families have
  a relaxing...

• Contents Page
  02

  We know how busy everyone is at this time of year, but we
  couldn't help producing a bumper issue for the festive
  season. Please take a copy home if you can't find time to
  read it in a break. Even if it's the last one where you...

• Spreading the news
  02

  Spreading the news
  JS has become the first retailer to sponsor a London taxi with
  one of its own brand products.
  Jeremy gives the keys to the Butterlicious cab driver outside Nine Elms store in
  central London. The idea for the...

• Half million £ hand-over
  03

  Half million £ hand-over
  Sainsbury's has presented a cheque for £510,000 to the Special
  Olympics campaign -the result of this summer's hugely
  successful fund-raising efforts by JS and Savacentre stores.
  (l-r) Steve Potts,...

• Life peerage for David Sainsbury
  03

  Life peerage for David Sainsbury
  J Sainsbury pic's chairman
  David Sainsbury became a
  life peer at a ceremony
  held in the House of Lords
  on 21 October.
  The Sainsbury family is
  unique in having three life
  peers in the House...

• New plan to conserve wildlife
  03

  New plan to conserve wildlife
  JS launched its farnn biodiversity action plan recently at an
  international conference attended by suppliers, farmers, wildlife
  groups and environmentalists. The action plan is an...

• Staff uniforms - make your views known
  03

  Staff uniforms - make your views known
  Before new retail uniforms
  are introduced next year
  staff are being asked to give
  their feedback.
  According to human resources
  policy manager Jan
  Cameron it's vital that...

• An apple a day
  04

  An apple a day
  The Marden Fruit Show
  took place recently, and
  featured a celebrity appearance
  from cricketer
  Chris Cowdrey, helping to
  promote English apples.
  Over 80 stores held tastings
  of five British apples
  with a...

• First for welfare
  04

  First for welfare
  Last month Sainsbury's
  introduced tlie UK's first
  retail welfare policy for dairy
  cows with the launch of Farm
  Assured Milk.
  Sainsbury's Farm Assured
  dairy scheme will be extended
  to all British dairy...

• Make friends with a parent
  04

  Make friends with a parent
  Voting forms will be in-storefrom 12 January-6 February for
  customers to vote in the 1998 Parent Friendly Awards. The voting forms will also be
  inserted into the February
  edition of the...

• New magazine at Homebase
  04

  New magazine at Homebase
  Homebase now has its own staff magazine, Touchbase. the second issue
  which appeared in November. Published ten times a year,
  Touchbase carries news and
  product information, as well
  as questions on the...

• Kids dig in
  05

  Kids dig in
  Children from King's Hill Infant School, Ware, Hertfordshire made light work of
  planting wild flowers and grasses in the ancient
  meadowland of the company's training centre at
  Fanhams Hall. The planting session...

• Open for business
  05

  Open for business
  On 18 November, chief
  executive, Dino Adriano
  opened the new East Kilbride
  distribution centre. The
  centre is to serve existing and
  future stores in Scotland,
  Northern Ireland and the
  North of England. It...

• Simply the best
  05

  Simply the best
  Sainsbury's has the best fruit
  and vegetable counter and
  the best heaith & beauty
  department according to
  Woman readers who voted
  in the magazine's 1997
  supermarltet of the year
  awards.
  Comments published...

• Tree planting record broken
  05

  Tree planting record broken
  More than 3,000 Scottish
  schoolchildren and conservation
  volunteers smashed the
  world record for planting a
  forest - with a little help from
  Homebase, Savacentre, and
  Sainsbury's...

• A lotta bottle
  06

  A lotta bottle
  The Blackfriars wine department recently welcomed
  200 customers to the first JS annual wine tasting
  event, held in the beautiful Nash Room at the
  Institute of Directors in London. A selection of 50 wines...

• Festival fun
  06

  Festival fun
  The sound of music - folk group
  Lammas Affair entertains Forestside
  shoppers.
  To help publicise the fact
  that Sainsbury's is one of the
  principal benefactors of the
  Belfast Festival at Queen's,
  members of...

• Radio waves stop crime
  06

  Radio waves stop crime
  in an attempt to cut down crime in the Walthamstow
  area, Sainsbury's and other organisations have
  sponsored a new radio link which connects all the
  local businesses with the community police office. If a...

• Veterans look for local colour
  06

  Veterans look for local colour
  Sainsbury's is sponsoring two
  pilot projects in Bromley
  and Yorkshire which are
  looking at ways of providing more locally-focused activities
  for group veterans.
  Currently only 20% of
  veterans...

• Gary takes time to sign
  07

  Gary takes time to sign
  Celebrity chef Gary Rhodes took time out from his hectic 'Rhodes on the road' tour to scribble his autograph on copies of his latest
  cookbook, just for JS customers. He visited 6 JS stores - the Journal...

• Keeping tag of supplies
  07

  Keeping tag of supplies
  JS is trialling an innovative radio frequency system
  which automatically monitors the movement of
  chilled foods stored in 'tagged' crates throughout the
  JS supply chain. Each time a crate moves to...

• New owners for NewMarket Foods
  07

  New owners for NewMarket Foods
  A wholly-owned subsidiary of
  JS, NewMarket Foods Limited
  was sold to Grampian
  Country Foods Group
  Limited on 1 November.
  Founded in 1958 as
  Haverhill Meat Products,
  NewMarket Foods is...

• Pinner parties on
  07

  Pinner parties on
  Pinner JS got the festive
  season offto a flying start
  when it took part in the
  Pinner Christmas fair.
  (l-r) London Towers' Andrew Brook
  and Mike Redd (back) with
  Pinner's Juiia Fenton and
  James Fitzgeraid...

• Getting it together
  08

  Getting it together
  Geoff Sprlegel, technical division
  dlretetor, gnas a talk on quality
  control. Sainsbury's has been talking
  to key non-food suppliers to
  help find ways of moving the
  business forward. Around 220
  suppliers...

• Hitting the right notes
  08

  Hitting the right notes
  Sainsbury's Choir of the Year
  1998 is getting under way and
  the search is on to find a
  winner In the UK's largest
  choral competition.
  Entries are being sought
  from all choirs for this, the
  eighth...

• Santa Claus comes to town
  08

  Santa Claus comes to town
  (l-r) Cobham's Glen Banflald, Diana Lawrence, Christine Raymond, Amanda Fox,
  ian McMullan, Dominie Price, Becky Brown, Jo Weaver, Davlnla Bethell,
  Kate McBaIn and Paul Biacldium. To help with his...

• Surrey stores show visually impaired artists' work
  08

  Surrey stores show visually impaired artists' work
  Pr Carol Bagnall (right) shows Paul Dyer, senior store manager at Burpham, the artwork of visually impaired artists,
  Ken Duncan and Dorothy Parsons. As part of Surrey...

• Early learning
  09

  Early learning
  A range of 50 Early Learning Centre developmental toys, for children from 0 - 5 years,
  has been introduced into
  109 JS stores. When choosing the Early
  Learning Centre toy range for
  stores, jS selected a...

• Hospital gains dialysis machine
  09

  Hospital gains dialysis machine
  THE
  . ^ ^ . > £ . _ ^ ^ ^ ''^"*"-^.;.„,-
  Pictured at the cheque presentation are: (I to r) Fran Skinner, personnel clerk,
  Coldhams Lane; Andy Stewardson, store manager, Thetford; Dr John...

• News in brief
  09

  Lottery win for checkout staff
  Sixteen checkout staff at Pinner store are celebrating picking five correct
  numbers and the bonus ball in the national lottery draw of 29 November.
  The syndicate received £152,000 which worked...

• Questions from the council
  10

  Questions from the council
  As many of the representatives attending the third group staff council meeting had attended the previous two, there was a relaxed and knowledgeable air
  about the council's members as they put points to...

• Group-wide
  11

  Group-wide
  Here's our regular round-up of what's been going on across the Group.. SAINSBURY'S
  SUPERMARKETS
  ORGANIC NEWS
  On 29 November chief technologist Bob
  Hilborn discussed the latest organic
  issues affecting the retail...

• Where are we on the WEB?
  12

  Where are we on the
  It's 14 months since the supermarket business launched its WEB strategy designed to make JS the customer's
  first choice for food shopping. We take a look at what progress has been made in each WEB segment....

• The way we manage
  13

  The way we manage Letter to the JS Journal from
  Dino Adriano, chief executive,
  UK food retailing business: Your article on store visits in
  the November issue of the JS
  Journal forces me to comment
  on this fundamental
  aspect...

• Writelines
  14

  Have your say
  What about
  Homebase?
  Andrew Gravestock,
  management training and
  development officer,
  hHomebase training
  department:
  Excellent magazine - shame
  about the pathetic lack of
  coverage for Homebase's 300
  plus...

• End of the century headache
  16

  While most of us are recovering from the end-of-the-century festivities, businesses could be suffering from a
  different kind of hangover. The year 2000 problem (also known as the millennium biig) is the inability of...

• All the way to the Bank
  17

  All the way to the Bank
  Not even one year old and Sainsbury's Bank already has more than half a million customers and over
  £1 billion on deposit But how does the bank operate - and how does it fit in with the
  rest of the JS...

• Speaking of the company...
  18

  Speaking of the company
  JS speakers are the fount of all knowledge when it comes to retailing, nutrition, labelling,
  additives, food safety, environmental issues, cooking, JS products, and many other subjects.
  But how much...

• What do points make?
  20

  What do points make?
  A high-profile promotion will be running in January, offering bags more reward points on over 200 everyday
  products. But what can Reward Card holders do once they've converted all their points into vouchers?...

• Branch opening—Penge
  22

  Penge
  Penge, south-east London's
  latest supermarket, opened
  for business on 28 October.
  Helping chief executive Dino
  Adriano cut the ribbon were
  six local schoolchildren,
  winners of a connpetition to
  design posters...

• POSTER COMPETITION
  23

  POSTER COMPETITION
  There's still just time for you, or a member of your family, to win a TV or video camera worth up to £750 by designing a poste
  with an energy saving message for Sainsbury's 1998/99 pay period calendar.
  Send...

• Save money with the energy Scrooges
  23

  TOP TEN TIPS v£/ Don't leave your television on stand-by. Each TV set
  left permanently on stand-by adds £20 a year to your
  electricity bill.
  © Switch off your heating when you go to visit relatives.
  Unless you live in...

• A tale of two tree growers
  24

  A tale of two tree growers
  The traditional tree at Christmas dates back to 1841
  ^ b ^ ^ I H I ^mwM WF^ I ^^^ ^"^ Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort. He imported
  9 1 ^ H ^ 1 ^ W W ^ ^ H ^ 1 ^ a tree to remind himself of...

• Chocs away!
  26

  Chocs away!
  In keeping with Christmas past, our
  selection of Traditional
  Chocolates will bring
  back the nostalgia of
  yesteryear. The
  stylishly packed choice
  includes Milk
  Chocolate Caramels
  (£1.99), Rum & Raisin
  Fudge...

• Decorating time
  26

  Decorating time
  To make your presents look extra special Homebase has all the decorations you
  need. The foil wrapping paper comes in various colours and costs £1.79 while the
  blue wired ribbon costs £2.99. For the golden...

• Don't go short
  26

  Don't go
  short
  Baked in Scotland, this good
  old-fashioned festive
  favourite. Chocolate Coated
  Ginger Shortbread (£2.99) is
  sure to evoke the spirit of
  Christmas.
  AVAILABLE IN 241 STORES

• Going crackers
  26

  Going crackers
  For a cracking time this Christmas, Homebase has 12 own brand lines of crackers to
  choose from. Those featured right are: (top to bottom) Exclusive cracker, £19.99
  (box of six); Simply Special cracker, £7.99...

• Pet pampering
  26

  Pet pampering
  To show your pets you really love them this Christmas
  treat them to a special seasonal meal. For dog owners,
  why not give your faithful friend Scout's Christmas
  Dinner (800g), with turkey, chipolata sausages,...

• Santa's socks
  26

  Santa's socks
  To give your kids funny and festive feet this
  Christmas they'll need to be wearing
  Sainsbury's Children's Socks, including these
  Snowman and Santa socks (£1.75 and
  £1.99 per pair) which come in...

• Be a swedie
  27

  Be a swedie
  To help you choose a healthier diet, why not try our twin pack of
  Baby Swede. Ideal for microwaving or oven baking in their skins,
  the twin pack costs 49p. Known as turnip in the north of England,
  Ireland and...

• Bless you
  27

  Bless you
  For some extra softness and comfort this
  Christmas, Sainslxiry's has launched
  Festive Cosmetic Facial Tissues (100
  tissues per pack), Festive Toilet Tissue
  and Festive Kitchen Towels, which are
  both twin-packs. All...

• Little and large
  27

  There is no Text

• Regal gifts
  27

  Regal gifts
  For that special gift to take you bacl< in
  time lool< no furtlier than our Victorian
  Dresser filled with chocolate truffles
  (£4.69). And if you want to ensure your
  loved one can see you night and day then
  this...

• Do you know this man?
  28

  Do you know this man?
  Potters Bar produce assistant,
  Kevin Smiley, needs your help.
  At the end of February he will be
  going on a 500km cycle ride
  around the River Nile in aid of
  Mencap's Blue Sky Appeal. If you
  can help...

• Duke's award
  28

  Duke's award
  Congratulations go to Stuart Callaghan, customer service manager at Tunbridge
  Wells, who has received the gold award from the Duke of Edinburgh's award
  scheme. This was presented to him by Prince Philip at St...

• Leeds win Charity Shield
  28

  Leeds win Charity
  Shield
  Homebase l,eeds, Roundhay
  Road store has won the region
  13 five-a-side charity shield
  football competition. The day
  was a huge success, raising in
  excess of £1,600 in aid of the
  ChildLine charity....

• Off their trolley
  28

  Off their trolley
  To raise funds for the Lincoln
  Ambicopter, a team from
  Lincoln store recently
  competed in a trolley
  push at the local lawn
  centre. In the race they had to
  push their trolley around a
  Grand Prix circuit...

• Poet of Aylesbury
  28

  Poet of Aylesbury
  Norman Tapping, a customer
  at Aylesbnn' seen here sitting
  on the lap of Kim Perr\',
  customer senice super\isor,
  was nominated as a finalist in
  the 1997 International Open
  Amateur Poetiy...

• Sidney Street celebrations
  28

  Sidney Street celebrations
  Staff and management
  recently celebrated 25 years of
  trading at Sidney Street,
  Cambridge, with a special gettogether
  and anniversary cake.
  The evening was well supponed
  with retired employees...

• Frankly outstanding
  29

  Frankly outstanding
  After losing his wife to cancer, Frank
  Ebrey, a part-tinner at Eltham store,
  decided to go on a solo cycle ride around
  both islands of New Zealand. His aim was
  to raise money for the Oncology Unit...

• Just wild to walk
  29

  Just wild to walk
  Staff from Witney store joined 900
  walkers to raise funds for the World
  Wildlife Fund's appeal to save forest
  habitats. The walk and other activities
  took place at Cotswold Wildlife Park
  where participants...

• Pictures for Schools
  29

  Pictures for Schools
  Vernon Dix, store manager at Perton,
  children at Wolverhampton store.
  All JS stores, over the past
  couple of months, have
  presented pictures to a
  number of their local schools
  as part of Sainsbury's...

• Say cheese
  29

  Say cheese
  Two Rams are the toast of Wellingborough at
  the moment. Pamela Edwards (left),
  delicatessen assistant and Pam Lawrence,
  assistant manager fresh foods, have
  both passed their Cheese Guild
  Diploma exams. Here they...

• Tricks and treats of the trade
  29

  Tricks and treats of the trade
  For anyone who
  didn't notice,
  Hallowe'en has
  come and gone, and to prove it, here are a
  couple of pictures we rounded up from
  Durham and Lancaster stores.
  The prominent display at Lancaster...

• SNAP! Our photo competition winners
  30

  SNAP!
  JS JOURNAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 1997
  We had such a fantastic response
  to our 1997 photographic competition
  that judging them was
  always going to be difficult.
  Thankfully, John Clements (left) - a freelance...

• Pit your wits
  32

  Christmas crossword
  ACROSS
  2. Its fruit is tlie acorn (3)
  Subordinate officers on a mercliant sliip (5)
  It usually contains a paper liat (7)
  of Darkness, a famous story by Joseph Conrad (5)
  ^
  The colour associated with 1...

• Get mobile
  34

  Get mobile
  JS has recently moved into the mobile phone business selling
  a new generation of innovative off-the-shelf packages
  designed specifically to be sold in retail outlets. One 2 One
  products such as All-in-One packs -...

• SSA OFFERS
  34

  SAINSBURY'S STAFF ASSOCIATION Tel: 0171 695 7227
  Skiing in Scotland
  We have dealt successfully for many years with Tourplan (Scotland) Ltd
  Newtonmore, Inverness-shire. We have three separate offers for skiing
  different...

• Long service
  35

  Long service
  Employees who have completed 25 years'service
  VIVIENNE ALIEN, checkout/replenishment assistant. King's Lynn. DAPHNE CATO, checkout/
  replenishment assistant, Cowley. JANET CRANE, senior deli assistant, Chelmsford...

• Retirements
  35

  Retirements
  Length of service is in brackets
  FRIEDEL ADAMS, senior home entertainment assistant, Walsall (26yrs). PAULINE AILNUTT, fresh
  food replenishment assistant, Lincoln (15yrs). PHILIP BAKER, audit clerk, Basingstoke...

• Sound and Vision
  35

  SAINSBURY'S
  Vision
  Santa's going batty
  For the ideal gifts to fill those Christmas stockings, there are a
  number of video and album releases to satisfy all tastes.
  Talking about video releases,
  you're sure to go batty at...

• Weddings
  35

  Weddings
  MARIAN MASKELL, senior deli assistant and BARRY WEADICK.
  warehouse assistant (both at Waltham Cross) married on
  26 August at Cheshunt register office.
  DYELLA HODGSON, BPM, Larltfieid, married DAVE CROSS,...

• Now the Holly bears a Sainsberry
  36

  Now the Holly bears a Sainsberry
  stare hard at a bottle of Sainsbury's Blackfriars Gin this yule-tide and you
  may find that it conjures up images of Christmas past. For the logo on the
  bottle is none other than the punning...