JOHN
BENSON started his grocery business in 1953,
servicing mainly the Leith and Portobello areas
of Edinburgh.
The master grocer built the chain of Benson
Grocers up to eight outlets at which stage
he decided it was time to start supplying his
own shops, as well as other local retailers.
The cash-and-carry
aspect of the Benson business, formed in
1969, originally opened in the 22,000 sq
ft former Bellevue bakery building on McDonald
Place. In doing so it became one of Scotland’s
first cash and carry outlets.
In 1989, the business
bought over a former printing works just
yards away from its original base, investing £1.5
million in refurbishment and in doing so,
grew the cash and carry offering to 54,000
sq ft.
However, just as the business was settling
into its new home, John Benson died while on
holiday, leaving the company in the hands of
sons Graham and George and daughter Anne.
As a founding member
of the Landmark Group, Bellevue are part
of one of the UK’s
biggest buying groups and owner of the Lifestyle
and Caterers Kitchen brands.
This association gives
Bellevue access to Landmark’s £2
billion-plus a year purchasing power. Being
part of Landmark also ensures we can buy
competitively and sell competitively across
our two depots.
The Edinburgh depot services
caterers and retailers, and covers an area
from Edinburgh to the Lothians. The Stirling
depot is slightly different, and specialises
purely in the independent retail convenience
sector with approximately 50 per cent of
the business delivered by a fleet of five
vehicles and three full time reps, whilst
the other 50 per cent is standard cash and
carry.
Our business’s strengths
are our Edinburgh city centre location and
broad mix of customers. While most cash-and-carries
only supply independent retailers and convenience
stores, Bellevue also provides "food service
products" -
catering-associated provisions - under Landmark’s
Caterers Kitchen symbol, to a swathe of Lothian’s
pubs, clubs and hotels. It’s our crucial
point-of-difference.
Over recent years there
has been a stream of trade awards, including
the Scottish Wholesale Association’s
Best Cash & Carry for
two years, Champion of Champions and Best Licensed
Wholesaler, as well as Landmark group’s
Wholesaler of the Year. |
