Grab your trolley as we head back down the aisles of the now-lost Norco Superstore in Dundee.
The £3.75 million supermarket — which closed 30 years ago — was a staple for Hilltown shoppers and boasted “possibly Tayside’s biggest delicatessen” with “over 65 British and continental cheeses”.
Norco — Scotland’s largest retail outlet at 52,000 square feet — also featured a vast array of top-notch blended Scotch whiskies and beers from all over the world.
The supermarket also made a promise to customers to provide “something a little bit extra” with the chance to rent or buy a TV or video recorder alongside their groceries.
A planning application was lodged by the Aberdeen-based Northern Co-operative Society in April 1989 for a supermarket on the site of the former Bowbridge Works.
Although the works were demolished in 1987, several features of the old mill were retained, including the cast iron gates and stone pillars at the Caldrum Street entrance.
Norco said the store would answer the need for shopping requirements in the Hilltown area caused by planned closures and relocation of other shopping facilities.
‘Miles more for your money’ at Norco in Dundee
The Norco Superstore with 400 parking spaces would create 250 jobs and mark the return of a Co-operative retail presence to the city for the first time since 1970.
Work began in November 1989 with the ‘topping out’ ceremony held in April 1990, which included a tree planting “to symbolise immortality and to ward off evil spirits”.
Norco Dundee would offer customers “miles more for your money” and said the superstore was designed in a “house-style” fashion that was “regarded by research as comforting to the shopper”.
An advert in the Evening Telegraph publicised the store, which opened in October 1990, with shoppers being offered a free bottle of German wine for spending over £30.
The advert said: “There’s always something special on offer at Norco Dundee.
“With a wide range of top-quality food products, Norco provides excellent value in every department.
“Check out the freshly baked bread from our in-store bakery or visit our fresh fish section.
“Delight in the delicatessen which stocks over 65 British and continental cheeses, not to mention a full selection of cold meats, pâtés, salamis and pizza made to your requirements.
“Our wines and spirits department includes an excellent range of whiskies with more than 60 malts and 35 blends, together with beers from all over the world.
“A team of butchers cut and pack the highest quality meat within the store and we stock over 60 fresh poultry products.”
What would you expect to pay?
Galloway cheddar was £1.29 per lb with brie and white stilton £1.99.
Camembert was £2.29 per lb for those with a more sophisticated palate.
Corned beef was 29p per lb, turkey breast 45p, ham 59p, ox liver 59p, pork gigot £1.19, steak mince £1.59, rolled brisket £1.59 and both topside and silverside of beef at £1.86.
Scotch boneless pork loin steaks were £2.39 and Scotch rump steak £2.99 per lb, while salmon steaks were £2.99 per lb, haddock fillets £2.19 and Arbroath smokies £1.99.
A 5lb oven-ready chicken was £4.39 with the 4lb alternative at £2.99.
Fancy a drink?
More than 60 malts and 35 blends included a bottle of Auchentoshan malt whisky at £13.99, Blairmhor malt whisky at £9.99 and Stewart’s Cream of the Barley at £8.75.
A half bottle of Claymore Whisky would cost £4.35.
Remember Concorde?
This was marketed as “slightly sparkling British wine” and was sitting alongside various Romanian wines, although the international beer section was impressive.
Among the “foreign” beers and lagers on offer were the likes of Carlsberg Elephant, Tiger Beer, Sol Lager, Peroni, Corona, Rolling Rock, Moosehead Lager and Steinlager.
The Sound and Vision Power Point outlet situated in the store offered 40 different TV rental models and also sold “audio equipment, clock radios and telephones”.
You could also buy your own TV set or video recorder with “competitive prices on brand-leader names like Ferguson, Fidelity, Grundig, Hitachi, Phillips and Sanyo”.
Complete customer service included a “repair maintenance and installation team”.
The opening weekend at Norco was a huge success with customers stocking up in the food aisles and delicatessen for the first time with their kids secured in their trolleys.
Gardening royalty Bill Torrance was behind the decks at the Radio Tay Roadshow and there were lots of free giveaways as eager customers got their first taste of the new supermarket, including a washing machine, mountain bike, TV set, golf clubs, decanter and tracksuit.
The store was open seven days a week from 8.30am-8pm and until 9pm on Thursday, with weekend shopping from 8am-6pm on Saturday and 10am-5pm on Sunday.
The early signs were positive.
Norco was described as “one of Dundee’s most imaginative and welcoming superstores” ahead of a “super weekend of fun and excitement” in July 1991.
A marketing stunt to attract new customers?
There was a bouncy castle and traditional fairground games including stocks and sponges, coconut shy, lucky darts, ball in the bucket, tombola and wheel of fortune.
The prize giveaway which raised money for Cash for Kids included a one-hour flight for four over Tayside and Perthshire while six runners-up would receive a flying lesson.
Three TV sets, food hampers, bottles of champagne, tennis racquet and balls, skateboard, tracksuit and six months’ supply of pet food were the other prizes.
An Evening Telegraph advertising feature spread the word beyond the Hilltown boundaries and suggested this was the weekend to sample the Norco experience.
What was the experience like for shoppers in 1991?
The Tele was impressed!
The advertising feature stated: “As soon as you step inside, the tempting smell of the new-baked bread and the coffee from the restaurant will make you feel right at home.
“Norco have brought Co-op shopping back to Dundee after a gap of several years – and brought it back in style.
“Norco, or the Northern Co-operative Society, are based in Aberdeen and have around 130 years’ experience in meeting everybody’s shopping needs.
“Their aim is to make shopping as pleasant as possible for their growing number of customers and friends – and they’ve certainly succeeded in the Dundee superstore.
“Wide aisles make access easy, and the widest of shopping choices make shopping a pleasure.
“The store includes what is possibly Tayside’s biggest delicatessen, with more cheeses and cold meats than you could name, a huge off licence department with an excellent range of beers, and a connoisseur’s selection of malt whiskies.
“There’s also an in-store bakery offering delicious treats and even a fresh fish department – all under one roof, centrally located and with their own huge car park.
“If you haven’t yet sampled the Norco experience, this is the weekend to do it.”
They did.
But the sun was setting on Norco, which was the only large consumer co-operative in the UK not to be a member of the Scottish or English Co-operative Wholesale Societies.
Memories shot down in flames
Norco declared a loss of £7 million in April 1992.
Emergency measures included a massive sell-off of businesses.
It couldn’t stem the tide.
Norco eventually collapsed in the summer of 1993.
Staff were given 24 hours’ notice the doors at the Main Street supermarket would be shuttered with the loss of 150 full-time and 100 part-time jobs.
Liquidators were appointed after a merger bid with the Co-operative Wholesale Society was declined and the 132-year-old firm was wound up with debts of £3.5m.
Scotmid reopened the vacant building in 1995 and created more than 200 jobs before closing in May 1997, before 20,000 square feet of the premises were offered for lease and became a Fitness First health club.
The Energie group took over in 2003 and eventually rebranded as Fit4Less.
The Hilltown Indoor Market neighbouring the gym opened in 2013 following the demise of Dens Road Market, which closed after 44 years of business.
Hilltown Indoor Market and Fit4Less gym were wiped off the map when a ferocious blaze led to the roof of the building collapsing on September 12 2018.
The next chapter for the former jute works site will be 131 homes.
