The first Iceland store was opened for business in November 1970 by Malcolm Walker and his business partners in Shropshire after they managed to raise £60 to cover one month’s rent. After being fired from their day jobs at Woolworths, the partners put all their efforts into developing the Iceland food retail business, and started off by specialising in loose frozen food.
By 1975, there were 15 Iceland stores in North Wales and the North West . The company gradually moved away from loose frozen food and opened its first purpose-built freezer centre in Manchester in 1977. New store openings and the acquisition of smaller chains led to the company operating 81 stores by 1984 – the same year it was floated on the London Stock Exchange.
In 1989 Iceland bought its major competitor Bejam, which at the time was three times the size of Iceland in terms of business. The acquisition gave Iceland a national presence with a chain of 465 stores. By 1995 its store portfolio had increased to 752, but the company began to feel the pressure from its main supermarket rivals. In response Iceland launched an innovation programme, which included the introduction of a free, nationwide home delivery service and the development of new products including own-brand foods free from GM ingredients.
After 21 years on the stock market, Iceland became a private company once more in 2005 after an offer for the business by a consortium, led by Icelandic investment group Baugur, was accepted by shareholders of The Big Food Group (the name given to the combined Iceland-Booker business in 2002, which consequently led to a decline in sales).
Malcolm Walker, who had been forced to leave the business along with many other senior executives in 2001, was put in charge of repairing the damage that had been done by the Booker cash-and-carry acquisition and restoring the company’s fortunes.