FAMILY GROCERY HOPING TO WIN OVER MALAYSIA

Booths was founded in 1847 by 19-year-old tea dealer Edwin Henry Booth in Blackpool. It was originally called The China House

He borrowed £80 in goods from a grocer in Preston to get the shop up and running

Three months later, he had paid off the debt and made a profit of £50

Edwin’s son John grew the business, adding more stores and cafes in 1902. It was one of the first shops to have a cafe in it

Today there are 28 stores across the north of England, staffed by 3,000 employees

NORTHERN grocer Booths is venturing further afield – into Malaysia.

Dubbed the ‘Waitrose of the North’, the 170-year-old family business has gained a foothold in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria.

But rather than try to entice middle-class shoppers with shops in the Home Counties, Booths has teamed up with Hong Kong-listed Dairy Farm.

It will ship 40 product lines, including jams, chutneys and puddings, to 19 shops across Malaysia.

Chairman Edwin Booth, a fifth-generation Booth, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘It’s the heritage that gives people over there reassurance, particularly when it comes to food.’

Booths is also keen to get its food into homes in the South, perhaps through a deal with a distributor but not by opening more stores.

The chain reported its best ever sales over Christmas – breaking the £10m barrier in Christmas week for the first time. Champagne sales rocketed 28pc, port sales were up 12pc and salmon soared 126pc.