Big Firm launches smaller brand – the Harris and Hoole story

You may have read about the company Teapigs, which presents itself as a quirky small upstart company, when it began its life under the close support of a much bigger business. Here’s another example: Harris and Hoole - a coffee shop that presents itself as an independent chain but is in fact 49% owned by…

… Tesco, who (according to the Telegraph) says that Tesco’s investment in the start-up coffee chain is “good news” for the high street and the firm has been “upfront” about backing the business. A Tesco executive is reported to have said that Harris+Hoole (run by entrepreneurs Nick, Andrew and Laura Tolley) got investment from Tesco because “they were looking for a company which could back their vision to bring quality coffee to a wider audience”. Nothing wrong with that, as coffee shops grow and grow. The investment was similar to Tesco’s backing of Scottish garden chain Dobbies and Islington bakery Euphorium.

I perhaps implied that the Teapigs example was almost a deception on the part of the parent company. Tesco are anxious not to be seen in this light. The executive again:

“We’ve always been upfront about our investment in Harris+Hoole, and so have Harris+Hoole. We like backing great brands, helping them to grow and to realise their potential. Some people have asked why it’s not branded Tesco. The H+H brand is part of its value – its distinctiveness and appeal. It’s the Tolley’s business, their brand. Our investment helps them to take it further. So what’s in it for Tesco? I’ve talked a lot about loving the stores we have, making them an appealing destination for customers to come. When the Tolleys are ready, we will put them into some of our stores. They will have proved that their brand and their offer work, that customers like it and it will be another reason for customers to shop with us. We will back businesses in which we see an opportunity for their brands to grow with ours.”

Interesting. Coverage and comments in the Guardian seem rather more hostile, with some customers complaining that customers criticise 'indie' image of the coffee shops part-owned by Tesco.

The BBC have now put lots of coverage of this story on their website - it's a really good article and well worth a look if this blog has caught your interest. Check out Tesco effect: How big firms quietly own little brands.