 | |
 Booths atPoulton-le-Fylde,Lancashire, 2024 | |
| Booths | |
| Company type | Private limited company |
| Industry | High-end supermarket |
| Founded | |
| Founder | Edwin Henry Booth |
| Headquarters | Ribbleton,Preston, Lancashire, England, UK[2] |
Number of locations |  26 retail stores inNorthern England |
Area served | |
Key people |
|
| Products | Food, beverage & tobacco retailing |
| Revenue |  £318.65m (2024)[4] |
| £3.15m (2024)[4] | |
| £(1.73m) (2024)[4] | |
| Owner | Booth Family and staff |
Number of employees | 3,242[4] |
| Website | booths |
E. H. Booth & Co., Limited,[2]trading asBooths, is a chain of high-end supermarkets inNorthern England. Most of its branches are inLancashire, but there are also branches inCheshire,Cumbria,North Yorkshire andWest Yorkshire. It has been described as the "Waitrose of the North" by sources such asThe Daily Telegraph.[5]
E. H. Booth & Co. Ltd was founded in June 1847 when 19-year-old tea dealerEdwin Henry Booth opened a shop called the China House inBlackpool.[6] In 1863, he added the sale of wines and spirits, and branches were opened inLytham in 1879 andBlackburn in 1884. The business was incorporated as a privatelimited company in 1896.[1]
Edwin's son, John, opened cafes in the stores in 1902 and invited all staff to become shareholders in 1920.[7] It has remained owned by the Booth family and staff ever since, comprising over 250 shareholders in 2011 and with no individual having more than 12% of the total shares.[8] The current chairman,Edwin J. Booth, is the fifth generation.
In June 2005, the current chairman, Edwin J Booth, was awarded theBusiness in the Community (BITC)Prince of Wales Ambassador Award for North West England.[9] This is given to individuals whose leadership and commitment to responsible business practice and the actions they have taken personally have created a positive impact both inside their company and on the wider society. He was also finalist for theErnst & Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year (North).[9]
In 2006, Booths achieved second place in the list of the World's Greatest Food Retailers.[10] The panel of top designers, architects, analysts, journalists, suppliers and retailers was brought together by national trade publication,The Grocer, and asked to rank their favourite food retailers from anywhere in the world. They were impressed by the quality of the company's offer, its focus on local sourcing and head for innovation. Simon Bell, retail director of foodservice firm Leathams, voted Booths' Chorley store first aboveSelfridges in London. He applauds its excellent customer service, knowledge of products and friendly staff.[11]
A new head office was opened in early 2006 inRibbleton, Preston and includes environmentally friendly features, such as using rainwater to flush the toilets. In 2011, Booths opened two new stores inMediaCityUK,Salford[12] andPenrith, Cumbria.[13] A new Booths store inMilnthorpe opened on 14 November 2012 and one inBarrowford opened on 4 December 2014. A branch opened in July 2015 inBurscough, followed by a store inSt Annes in September and thePoulton-le-Fylde store was renovated.
In a feature article inThe Guardian in 2008, David Webster, the former chairman and co-founder of Britain'sSafeway chain (which had sold out toMorrisons in 2004), said that he had tried to buy out Booths several times over the years, as did several of his rivals: "One thought Booths would have disappeared ages ago but it jolly well hasn't. It is obviously doing an outstanding job for its customers".[14]
In 2008, Booths was under pressure by Waitrose with rumours of a takeover,[15] which was later ruled out. Booths and Waitrose then formed a buying group together.[16]
Booths commissionedSmall World Consulting to research itscarbon footprint and the resulting report was published in 2012.[17]
In 2015, Booths was named Independent Retail Chain of the Year atThe Grocer Gold Awards. As of 11 October 2017,Amazon Fresh sells a range of Booths branded products for home delivery in selected areas.[18]
In November 2017, it was reported that the supermarket had been put up for sale for between £130m and £150m,[19] but this was later dismissed as "speculation" by the firm.[20]
In the2019 Birthday Honours, Booths' executive chairman Edwin J. Booth was appointedCBE "for services to business and to charity".[21]
In 2021, it was confirmed that theMediaCityUK branch was to close within months due to the impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic. After 10 years, it closed for trade in February 2021.[22]
In April 2024, theirHale Barns store closed after nine years, ending their presence inGreater Manchester.[23]
In July 2025, theirRipon store closed after sixteen years, bringing the total number of Booths stores to 26.[24]
There are 26 stores:[25]
.jpg)
In May 2014, the store rebranded its own-label milk as Fair Milk, increasing its farm gate milk price to a yearly average of 34.4 pence per litre, and thus paying farmers more for their milk than any other UK supermarket.[26] In 2015, Booths became a finalist in the Responsible Business Awards, organised by the charityBusiness in the Community (BITC), the UK's longest-running and most respected corporate responsibility awards. Booths was one of only four companies shortlisted in the Samworth Brothers Rural Action Award, which recognises businesses which support rural communities.[27]
The"artisan" speciality food shop and restaurant is a recent development by Booths. The first one was located at the Kendal store; its range is mainly local produce from small producers.[28]
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)
| 'Big four' | |
|---|---|
| Convenience | |
| Discount | |
| Frozen specialists | |
| Online | |
| Premium | |
| Regional | |
