C4.32 UK Supermarkets

What supermarkets are there in the UK?

Every country has supermarkets, which are divided into high-end, regular, and budget-friendly ones. UK supermarkets sell almost everything. In addition to local British supermarkets, there are Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai supermarkets, and online supermarkets, etc.—you can find whatever you need. Many supermarkets are also open 24 hours a day. If you’re financially well-off and studying in the UK, you don’t need to bring daily necessities like clothes or quilts. You can buy all of them in the UK, but the prices will be much higher.

For example, a bottle of Laoganma costs around 10 RMB in China, but about 6 GBP in the UK. Some students say UK rice cookers have few functions—unlike those in China which are affordable and multi-functional. However, in reality, if you have enough money, you can buy rice cookers with all the functions you want, including Chinese-made ones. But the most common ones are Japanese-branded rice cookers, and they are quite expensive—not something you can get for a few hundred RMB like in China. Another example is rice: most supermarkets sell rice from various countries. Generally, the most expensive rice is sold in Chinese supermarkets, while the cheapest is available in small supermarkets like Muslim-owned stores or local British small supermarkets.

So what are the high-end supermarkets in the UK?Mark & Spencer (M&S)M&S has stores in most cities across the UK. It’s a long-established British department store with branches in other European countries. The prices are relatively high, but the quality of all products is guaranteed. It offers a wide range of delicious snacks, as well as items from furniture to fresh fruits and vegetables. It also frequently runs promotions—many ready-to-eat foods are buy-one-get-one-free towards the end of business hours.

web：https://www.marksandspencer.com/

Whole Foods Market

This is a high-end supermarket from the United States, specializing in organic and natural foods. It offers an extremely wide range of products, including many items not available in other supermarkets, but the prices are very high. Currently, all its physical stores are in London, but its products can also be purchased on Amazon.

web：https://eu.wholefoodsmarket.com/

Waitrose

This supermarket mainly operates in upscale residential areas or commercial districts in the UK. It is one of the favorite supermarkets of the British royal family, and you may occasionally encounter royal members there.

web：https://www.waitrose.com/

Regular Supermarkets in the UK

1. Tesco

   It is a supermarket chain, the largest retail chain in the UK, and one of the world’s top three retail chains. It can be found in almost every area of the UK, very common, with affordable prices that are not particularly expensive.

web：https://www.tesco.com/

Sainsbury’s

This supermarket is also very common in the UK, with stores everywhere. Its prices are similar to Tesco mentioned above, and many local people shop here.

web：https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/

ASDA

ASDA merged with Sainsbury’s mentioned above in 2018. As a large-scale comprehensive supermarket, it is generally located in suburban areas with a large floor space and offers lower prices than Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

web：https://www.asda.com/

Morrisons

This is also a large-scale comprehensive supermarket, located in suburban areas. It offers affordable prices and has a wide range of foods popular among Chinese people, such as pork trotters. Every day, shortly before closing time, it holds major promotional activities.

web：https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/startWebshop.do

Costco

This is a membership-only supermarket, meaning you must have their membership card to enter and make purchases. It is an American supermarket that sells goods in wholesale-like quantities, with no individual items available. For example, you can only buy toilet paper by the box, and toothbrushes come in batches of ten to twenty at a time—all are bulk packs. It sells a wide range of products, including luggage and branded items, and offers great value for money.

web：https://www.costco.co.uk/

Which are the budget-friendly supermarkets in the UK?

WilkoIt mainly sells furniture products and also has many interesting toys. I have shopped there a few times and bought things like washbasins and kettles here. You can find items that aren’t available in some other supermarkets. Of course, you need to look up the English words in advance. Taking photos is not allowed in supermarkets here—if you do, a security guard will come to remind you not to.

web：https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/

LiDL

Among budget-friendly supermarkets, this is the one I often shop at. The quality is quite good and the prices are very reasonable. As it’s a German supermarket, many of its products are from Germany or other European countries. Due to its large size, it is mostly located in the surrounding suburbs.

web：https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/index.htm

ALDI

Both this one and the above-mentioned are budget-friendly supermarkets from Germany, offering similar products at comparable prices—very cheap and cost-saving.

web：https://www.aldi.co.uk/

Iceland

Since this one is located in the city centre, I often shop here too—it’s just diagonally opposite IKEA Coventry. The prices are very cheap. Once, when I was buying eggs, I dropped and broke them at the checkout, and the cashier directly replaced them with a new box for free.

web：https://www.iceland.co.uk/

Poundland

We call this kind of shop a pound shop. They are mostly located in the city centre, with most items priced at £1, some at a few pounds or tens of pence. Products that cost several pounds in other supermarkets are sold here for £1, which is very cost-effective.

web：https://www.poundland.co.uk/

WHSmith

This supermarket was recommended by my teacher when I was in class. At that time, I needed to buy stationery like notebooks, so the teacher suggested shopping here. It mainly sells books, newspapers, stationery, toys and the like, and also has food—though mostly snacks. It’s decent, but the prices aren’t particularly cost-saving

web：https://www.whsmith.co.uk/

The co-operative food

This kind of shop is not very common in the city centre; it is more frequently found near surrounding residential areas, convenient for local residents. The prices are not very expensive, and it is also a chain of small supermarkets.

web：https://food.coop.co.uk/

SPAR

This is a chain supermarket from the Netherlands, with two types: large supermarkets and small convenience stores. It is not a particularly common store, and the prices are reasonable.

web：https://www.spar.co.uk/

Which Chinese supermarkets are there in the UK?

In various cities across the UK, there are many Chinese supermarkets, each with a different name. Some have been around for a long time, while others close after a few years—there is quite a high turnover. For example, in Coventry and Birmingham, UK, there were only three or four Chinese supermarkets a few years ago, but within just a few years, that number has grown to seven or eight. In addition to the year-on-year growth of Chinese supermarkets, the number of Chinese restaurants has increased even more dramatically. However, since many of these small supermarkets are newly opened, non-chain, have only been in business for a few years, or are located in a single place, we won’t elaborate on them here. Today, we will mainly introduce the long-established, chain Chinese supermarkets operating in the UK.

Wing YipHeadquartered in Birmingham, this is the largest chain of Chinese supermarkets in the UK. It operates not only Chinese supermarkets but also buffets—for instance, at the Wing Yip in Birmingham, the buffet is right next to the supermarket. The buffet offers a wide variety of food at reasonable prices, and we have specifically been there to eat. Its location is quite out of the way.

web：https://www.wingyip.com/

UKCNSHOP

This is an online Chinese supermarket offering free UK-wide delivery on orders over £50.

web：https://www.ukcnshop.com/

Korean Supermarkets in the UK

HMART

This is the largest Korean supermarket in the UK, offering almost all kinds of Korean food and other products, including rice cookers, barbecue grills and so on. There are three physical stores in total.

web：https://hmart.co.uk/shop/en/

Korea Foods

This Korean supermarket is also located in London. It is branded as a Korean food store, but it also stocks products from China, Thailand and other countries.

web：https://www.koreafoods.co.uk/en

Kmart and Seoul PlazaBoth of these Korean supermarkets are located in London. Although neither is very large, they stock all the basic common Korean food items.

Japanese Supermarkets in the UK

Japan CentreThis Japanese supermarket is highly recommended by most people, as its ingredients are of excellent quality. It has a complete range of products, including fruits, vegetables, fresh produce, and seasonings, as well as a wide selection of Japanese snacks and treats. It offers online shopping, and its physical store is only available in London.

web：https://www.japancentre.com/en

Arigato

This Japanese supermarket is right next to Chinatown in London. It sells a wide variety of products—not just Japanese goods, but also items from China, South Korea, Thailand and other countries.

Online Supermarkets in the UK

AmazonIn recent years, Amazon has basically become a comprehensive shopping website that sells almost everything from all over the world. So if you search for it, you can basically buy the domestic products you want or products from other countries.

web：https://www.amazon.co.uk

Ebay

You can also buy a lot of things on eBay, but some deliveries can be extremely slow—for example, a shipping time of over ten days. Remember to check the delivery time before making a purchase.

web：http://ebay.co.uk