Haldanes aims to make mark with store expansion

The Scarborough-born retail entrepreneur now has 26 outlets after buying the new stores from The Cooperative Group. The latest acquisitions include his first store in Yorkshire, in Pontefract. Mr Harris told the Yorkshire Post about his expansion plans: "We would like to expand the group up to approximately 50 stores – that's a number we could cope with.

"Most of the stores we have got are local stores in market towns. We aim to keep them local and engage with the local community and give them much more local service than some of the other supermarket chains can manage to do. We definitely hope to get more stores in Yorkshire."

He added: "Other supermarket groups have boasted a reputation for good quality products, but we will go further than that; we'll be dedicating a higher percentage to freshly grown, local products. That policy will also extend to using local bakers and butchers as suppliers."

Haldanes will source more than a third of its food and drink from local producers and suppliers at each of its nationwide stores.

Mr Harris, the chairman, said he and Graeme Hay, the chief executive, are the main shareholders in the Lincolnshire-based group, launched in November. They now have 10 stores in England, one in Wales and 15 in Scotland.

The latest acquisitions came about after the Co-op agreed with the Office of Fair Trading to offload 133 outlets following its takeover of Somerfield.

The first store to begin trading under the Haldanes brand was at Prestonpans, near Edinburgh, in November, followed by two others near the Scottish capital, and one in Lanarkshire.

The first to open under the new owners in England will be at Tattershall, Lincolnshire, at the end of the month. Two others – in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – will come on line a few days afterwards. The eight new acquisitions, half still trading as Somerfield, the other four as the Co-op, stretch from Cumbria to Oxfordshire and will be trading under Haldanes fascia by mid April.

In addition to local producers, Haldanes' main suppliers will be Scunthorpe-based Nisa-Today's and Total Produce.

Mr Harris has a retail background in convenience stores and petrol stations.