Somerfield was a United Kingdom supermarket chain whose visual identity evolved through several distinct phases before the brand disappeared from the high street following its 2008 acquisition by the Co-operative Group. The company traced its roots to Bristol grocer J.H. Mills, which developed into the Gateway Foodmarkets chain in the 1960s, later known simply as Gateway. After a series of acquisitions and restructuring, the Somerfield name and brand were born in the early 1990s, with the first Somerfield store opening in Nottingham in 1991. The Gateway brand was gradually changed to Somerfield, and the company was renamed Somerfield plc in 1994. [1] [2]
Design and History
In January 2002, Somerfield chief executive Alan Smith announced that the company was finalising a new corporate logo, describing it as “a relative of the current logo, but noticeably different.” The rebadging of all stores was expected to take several years. [3]
The new logo was unveiled in April 2002 at a store in Kingswood, Bristol. The process of rebadging stores was expected to take up to three years. [4] The 2002 rebrand was intended to create a more contemporary design and feel, and coincided with the opening of several new store formats, including Somerfield Essentials and Somerfield Market Fresh. [1]
The earlier Somerfield logo used a rectangular shape, which was replaced in 2002 by the more contemporary design. [5] The corporate identity update was designed by FLB, a design consultancy that also worked on contemporising and standardising Somerfield’s own-brand packaging following the identity change. [6]
In July 2008, the Co-operative Group agreed to buy Somerfield for £1.57bn, and the Somerfield name was expected to disappear from the high street. [7] The BBC reported that the Somerfield name was likely to vanish following the takeover. [8]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2002 redesign was described by the company as a move toward a more contemporary look, and the new identity was part of a broader strategy shift announced in early 2002, when Somerfield said it would drop brand spokeswoman Annie and move away from its price-led “Megadeals” advertising strategy to focus on its position as a community supermarket. [9]
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