Franklins
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Franklins is a discount supermarket chain selling packaged groceries and perishables throughout New South Wales, Australia. It owns the No Frills brand of generic products, promoted by their mascot, "Red Sock". It is known as "Australia's Original Discount Grocer". Franklins also had stores in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia until 2001.
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[edit] History
[edit] Beginnings (1941-1978)
In 1941, Franklins was established in Sydney by Frank Lindstrom. It is his second supermarket chain, having sold his first one to Woolworths. In 1954, Franklins was acquired by Harold Cornock and Norman Tieck. Under their leadership it grew to cover much of NSW, and had a reputation for low prices.
[edit] Early Dairy Farm International (1978-1992)
In 1978, Cornock and Tieck sold the 75-store supermarket chain to Dairy Farm International, which maintained the chain's discount focus. Its turnover was AU$1 million. Franklins launched its No Frills generic range of products (aka store brand). This is the first such range in Australia. The store's format is changed to revolve around this brand, Franklins stores selling little else. This made them similar to Europe's Aldi, which pioneered this format. The chain became known as Franklins No Frills. In retaliation, Woolworths later launches "Home Brand" and Coles launches "Scotch Buy" (later rebranded as Savings). Around this time, Bi-Lo begins in Adelaide, using the same format as Franklins.
In 1982, Franklins expanded outside of Sydney and ultimately New South Wales to open its first stores at Deer Park and Gladstone Park in Victoria. In 1983, Franklins opened its first store at Toowoomba in Queensland. In about 1985, Franklins stores were revamped, and in 1989 Franklins opened its first store in South Australia and launched FRFM, Franklins' own in-house radio station playing songs and advertising specials. By 1989, Franklins had expanded into Victoria, Queensland, and the ACT, covering the east coast of mainland Australia and South Australia.
[edit] Late Dairy Farm International (1992-2001)
In 1990, Franklins starts opened attached liquor stores under the brand Liquor Save. Franklins also opens its 200th store. In 1992, Franklins Big Fresh was launched. This was a "food barn" format Dairy Farm had developed in New Zealand as "Big Fresh". Some existing stores were converted to this format, while others were built. Its first Franklins Big Fresh store opened in Leichhardt, in the inner western suburbs of Sydney others were opened in Marrickville and Gosford. The Gosford store featured a unique mini branch of the Commonwealth Bank actually inside the store, a first for Australia. It also had a small hairdressing kiosk inside the store. The hairdressing kiosk was rolled out to a number of other stores, although not all were the Big Fresh model. At the same time, Franklins started opening a few Mini Fresh stores in Queensland.
In 1994, Franklins launched Franklins Fresh, a mainstream supermarket format. In contrast to "Franklins No Frills" stores, they sold fresh produce, baked goods and meat as well as groceries. The "Fresh" part of the logo was similar to the one used by Big Fresh. It was designed to be a smaller version of Franklins Big Fresh. Its first Franklins Fresh store opened in Engadine, a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales.
The 1990s Franklins revamp was now complete. Its chains were:
- Franklins No Frills
Sold dry groceries and perishables in mid-sized discount supermarkets. Similar chains: Woolworths' Food For Less, Davids' Jewel.
- Franklins Mini Fresh
Sold fresh food and dry groceries in smaller convenience stores. Similar chains: Woolworths Metro, Coles Express (now Coles Central), IGA Express and 4 Square (now Eziway).
- Franklins Fresh
Sold fresh food and dry groceries in mid-sized discount supermarkets. Similar chains: Bi-Lo, Woolworths' Flemings, IGA Everyday, IGA Friendly Grocer, Dewsons.
- Franklins Big Fresh
Full-service food barn/supermarket similar to Coles and Woolworths but pitched as being a bit cheaper. Most of them also had attached "Liquor Save" outlets. They were the only supermarket to have a store mascot - a chicken. Similar chains: Coles, Woolworths, Bi-Lo Mega Frrresh, Supa IGA, Action.
- Liquor Save
Attached bottle shops (aka off licences). Similar chains: Woolworths' Mac's Liquor and IGA Liquor.
In 1998, Franklins launched its first advertisement on TV and also its first slogan: "More in your trolley for less". It also trial converts selected "No Frills" stores to "Franklins Fresh" and installs environmentally friendly fluorescent lighting in these stores. First Choice, an alternative (and short-lived) generic product range, is also launched. Franklins, Franklins Fresh and Franklins Big Fresh also launched their websites that year. In 1999, Franklins opened new stores and upgraded former No Frills stores to Franklins Fresh stores and unveiled its new logo, which is still used by the new Franklins (Pick and Pay), though it is only in use at selected stores at first. Also due to the logo change, Franklins Fresh also unveiled a new logo. The "Liquor Save" outlets were also re-branded as Franklins Liquor (attached to selected No Frills and Fresh stores) or Big Fresh Liquor.It had also positioned itself by this time as the national discount supermarket operator.
In 2000, Franklins sponsored the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. It sold a range of Paralympic merchandise. By the end of 2000, there were 287 stores.
[edit] Pick 'n Pay (2001-Today)
In 2001, Franklins' mass expansion and reformating ended in failure. Dairy Farm International exits from Australia in May, and many stores were sold to Woolworths (which got 67 stores), Coles, Foodland and IGA franchisees. A few closed. This saw the end of Franklins in the ACT, Victoria and South Australia. 86 stores across New South Wales and Queensland were sold to South African retailer Pick 'n Pay, and remain known as Franklins. The "No Frills", "Fresh" and "Mini Fresh" brands survived. "Big Fresh" did not and nearly all were bought by Woolworths and Coles. All but one of the 21 Fresco supermarkets were bought and rebranded as Franklins stores at the same time. The other was shut down. The new Franklins launched the "Saves You Money" slogan. In January Aldi launched in NSW, and quickly filled the void left by Franklins in many areas.
In 2002, Foodland Associated Limited bought 36 Franklins stores across Queensland and Northern NSW as well as its Queensland warehouse facilities. All were rebranded as Action supermarkets. This saw the end for the "Mini Fresh" brand. The "Fresh" and "No Frills" brands were also retired, although their formats remain. All stores more than 2000 square metres are effectively "Fresh" stores. Franklins was relaunched with the slogan "Look at us now!", with wider aisles, faster checkout times, friendly style and savings to make customers smile all part of the shopping experience. The Franklins website is also turned off.
In 2003, Franklins changed its slogan to "That's what I like about Franklins!". It also announced that it is not interested in owning petrol stations like most of its competitors. Later that year, the "No Frills" generic product range and the brand itself is revamped and then promoted by its new mascot, "Red Sock".
In 2004, the Franklins website was relaunched and Franklins joined the widespread trend of selling green plastic carrier bags. The fourth Pick 'n Pay era slogan was launched - "Cheap and Cheerful". The liquor outlets were relaunched as Franklins Local Liquor, in addition to the Canberra-based liquor chain. The annual "Birthday Cash Jackpot" competition is also introduced.
In 2005, Franklins started setting up franchise opportunities. By that time, there were 80 Franklins supermarkets across New South Wales. The only Franklins store to open that year was the one in Newcastle. The Franklins store in Erina Fair on the Central Coast was also closed.
On 30th January 2006, Franklins opened a purchased store in Ulladulla NSW to show potential franchisees the benefits of changing from IGA to Franklins. In September, Franklins opened in Leeton in the new Leeton Market Plaza. In October, Franklins stores at Wollongong Central, Eastlakes and South Bankstown were closed down. The Centro Bankstown store moved to a larger store in the shopping centre in December.
Also in 2006, Franklins launched its own loyalty club and begins changing a few stores to the "Franklins Family Supermarkets" brand, similar to the "Pick 'n Pay Family Supermarkets" brand. There were 77 Franklins stores by the end of 2006.
On 27th Februrary 2007, a new store at Gunnedah opened, taking the number of stores up to 78.
[edit] Advertising
Historically, Franklins never advertised due to it being a "no-frills" supermarket. Instead, it advertised specials at the stores, much like Aldi does now. Later, it advertised through their own catalogues, especially when it introduced fresh foods and liquor to its stores. But it was in 1998 when Franklins launched its first TV advertisement with the slogan "More in your trolley for less". Ironically, its rivals Woolworths and BI-LO launched their first advertisements around the same time and Coles was also given a new slogan, also at the same time. Shortly after Dairy Farm International exited the business in 2001, Franklins' advertisements used the slogan "Saves You Money". In 2002, the new Franklins was launched with the slogan "Look at us now!". In 2003 it was changed to "That's what I like about Franklins!" and again in 2004 to "Cheap and Cheerful". That slogan is now rarely used, being largely replaced with and branded as "Australia's Original Discount Grocer". The No Frills generic product range was relaunched in 2003 and promoted by its mascot "Red Sock" on TV advertisements and on its website. "Red Sock" now appears once every so often in the regular advertising on TV, radio, newspapers and catalogues for Franklins.
[edit] Departments
Franklins supermarkets are divided into departments. It is important to note that departments in Franklins supermarkets vary from store to store, depending on how big or small the store is.
- Service
- Also known as "Checkout" or "Front End" checkouts and service desk
- Non Trade
- Store management, systems office, backdock, cash and invoice office, also involves magazines and video returns.
- Deli
- Sliceats, cheeses and other Deli foods. Generally also sells hot foods such as chickens. Stores with more than 2000 square metres in size sell these although most Franklins sell chickens at the front of the store.
- Seafood
- Selected Franklins stores also sell Seafood right next to the Deli.
- Bakery
- Pre-packaged or Franklins brand or brand name bread products. Most Franklins stores sell these.
- Meat
- Most Franklins stores sell pre-packaged meats.
- Fresh Produce
- Fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts, plants and flowers. Stores more than 2000 square metres in size sell these.
- Perishables
- Includes Dairy (chilled goods such as eggs, milk, juices, sliced meats, yoghurts and cheese) and Frozen Foods (vegetables, meals, ice-creams, chicken and desserts).
- Grocery
- Grocery is the largest and most prominent department of the store. It includes all areas of a store that are not managed by other groups of staff.
- Grocery Nightfill
- Often managed under the command of the grocery manager
- Liquor
- Some stores also have a Franklins Local Liquor outlet attached. It is important to note that Franklins and Franklins Local Liquor are separate stores, however those attached to a supermarket are operated under the command of that store's store manager.
[edit] Generic products
[edit] No Frills
No Frills is Franklins' generic range of products. Launched in 1978, it was the first such brand range in Australia and changed supermarket shopping in Australia forever. Franklins stores initially changed the store's format to revolve around the brand, selling little else. The "No Frills" name was also used up until 2002 for the name of the format Franklins had used which is best known for selling dry groceries and frozen perishables only.
Originally, the No Frills brand was only used for its peanut butter, honey and potato chips but has since expanded its range to more than 800 products in packaged groceries and perishables.
In late 2003, the "No Frills" generic product range and the brand itself had been revamped and was promoted by its new mascot, "Red Sock". No Frills products continue to represent better value than any others – and always will. Sold with a money-back guarantee, in many cases they’re market leaders in their categories.
[edit] First Choice
First Choice was another generic range of products Franklins had sold. Launched in 1998, it was developed to provide an alternative to the leading brands and have products with quality equal to or better than the leading brands. The products didn't just have the quality but also had prices that were anywhere between 10-15% cheaper than the national brands.
First Choice had over 600 different products and new products were continually being developed everyday. The brand did not survive for long though and by the time Dairy Farm International exited the company in 2001, the brand was dropped, unlike No Frills which continues to be sold at Franklins to this day.
