The Big Issue is now stocked in major retailers to support vendors who are unable to sell on streets of the UK for the foreseeable future in wake of Coronavirus crisis.

From 2^nd April 2020 for the first time, The Big Issue, the magazine sold by some of the UK’s most vulnerable people to lift themselves out of poverty, is now sold by major retailers, Sainsbury’s and McColl’s to maximise sales in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

The Big Issue is available to purchase from Sainsbury’s for its customers both online and in selected stores and from McColl’s, Martin’s and RS McColl in store as a temporary measure, with the magazine remaining on sale until Big Issue vendors are able to return to work.

The Big Issue, which offers homeless and vulnerably housed people across the UK a means by which to earn a legitimate income, recently had to take the decision to safeguard its network of vendors by asking that they stop selling on streets across the whole of the UK with immediate effect on 20th March for the foreseeable future.

The listings in Sainsbury’s and McColl’s are the latest in a series of innovations by The Big Issue Group to provide readers with alternative ways to purchase the magazine and help support vendors up and down the country in the face of adversity.

Customers are able to purchase copies of The Big Issue in 164 Sainsbury’s stores, rolling out to 315 over the coming weeks, and 1,400 McColl’s stores for the price of £3.00 with 50% of net proceeds going into a vendor support fund.

Lord John Bird, Founder of The Big Issue, said: “We have helped well over 100,000 people over the past 29 years, and on average we put £5m into the pockets of our vendors every single year. Now more than ever, we need your support. Our income comes from street sales and without our vendors, on the streets, we cannot support those people that really need us now and in the future.”

“We are thrilled that the good folk at Sainsbury’s and McColl’s have partnered with us so that readers new and old can continue to buy The Big Issue during these turbulent times. As usual, we go half and a half with our vendors. You can also buy a magazine online or subscribe for three months whilst your vendor isn’t on the street.”

Paul Mills-Hicks, Commercial Director at Sainsbury’s said: “We are proud to be supporting a cause as important as The Big Issue Group, which exists to offer homeless people or individuals at risk of becoming homeless the opportunity to earn an income. Coronavirus has affected everyone in the UK, and it’s important that we show our support for each other in these increasingly challenging times.

“We hope that by providing a means for our customers to purchase a copy of The Big Issue, we can encourage people to continue to buy the magazine, which so many vulnerable people rely on.”

Jonathan Miller, Chief Executive, McColl’s, said: “We are delighted to be supporting The Big Issue at this important time. We urge our customers to lend their help by buying copies of the magazine available at our stores to help the organisation’s street vendors who will be struggling to make a living as people stay at home amid the coronavirus outbreak.”
The Big Issue, a bastion of the British High- Street, was founded 29 years ago and is a social enterprise that exists to dismantle poverty by creating opportunities, through self-help, social trading, and business solutions.

Vendors come from a variety of backgrounds and face a range of issues, but all are experiencing the effects of poverty. Since its launch in 1991, over 200 million copies of The Big Issue magazine have been sold by over 100,000 vulnerable people.

To purchase a copy of The Big Issue and keep up to date on the latest measures, please visit https://www.sainsburys.co.uk. 50% of net proceeds will go to vendors needing their help. The remaining 50% will enable The Big Issue to continue its vital work with vendors now and in the future.

For Sainsbury’s media enquiries, please contact press_office@sainsburys.co.uk and for McColl’s media enquiries, please contact mccolls@headlandconsultancy.com

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Sainsbury’s has launched its ‘Giving Store’ in London’s Covent Garden, where customers will have the chance, using pre-paid tokens, to take goods from the shelves and donate at the tills to people in need.

Sainsbury’s invites parents to join them with their children at the Giving Store, which will house priority items as advised by local food bank partners. From non-perishable food and toiletries to toys, products for those in need will line the shelves ready to be donated. Families will be able to explore the Dickensian-style shopping experience with characters showing them the way, from completing their own decadent Christmas dinner through to discovering an epic secret snow-filled forest.

At the end of the experience, shoppers will reach a traditional check out, where items collected earlier in the shop will be placed in interactive donation containers ensuring all customers experience the true joy of giving.

The UK retailer has launched the Giving Shop in a bid to make Christmas, Christmas by giving to others this year and helping those in need.

Judith Batchelar, Director of Sainsbury’s Brand, says: “If every person doing their Christmas shopping this December donated one extra item – be that a can of soup or a roll-on deodorant – over 50 million products could be donated to those in need this festive season.We want to do what we can to encourage shoppers to donate food and toys and do so in a way that teaches children the importance of helping others, particularly around the festive season.”

The store will be a child-focused experience which brings to life the importance of giving to others and donating to charity, inviting families to help the retailer brighten a million Christmases.

The pop-up will be open from Thursday 5^th to Sunday 8^th of December and will be located right in the heart of London in Covent Garden.

What

Sainsbury’s Giving Store

Where

11 Short Gardens

London

WC2H 9AT

When

Thursday 5^th December to Sunday 8^th December

Timings

Thursday 5^th December – 16:00 – 20:00

Friday 6^th December – 11:00 – 20:00

Saturday 7^th December – 11:00 – 20:00

Sunday 8th December – 11:00 – 20:00

Customers will be asked to pay a £5 donation for their ticket to enter the store, which will go to local charities. Children are free.

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Supersized selfie red noses are popping up across the UK as Sainsbury’s counts down to Red Nose Day on 15th March. They have launched their official Red Nose merchandise in-store to celebrate 20 years as a Comic Relief partner.

These giant red snifflers are appearing at ‘pick of the bunch’ locations, from Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Bobby to Blackpool’s Seafront to Cornwall’s Mud Man. Even London’s stately St Paul’s gets to wear one.

The aim is for the public to show their support and get busy taking selfies in front of them. Pop on their own Red Nose, and tag @Sainsburys, @ComicRelief and #RedNoseDay.

Sainsbury’s is also launching its first ever ‘Comic Receipt’ campaign, which offers the chance to see Ed Sheeran in Rome later this year. You’ll also get to meet him after the gig, and receive your very own, signed guitar.

To enter, visit the Sainsbury’s website and type in the unique code on your receipt.

It’s also an important anniversary for Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief.

The past two decades have seen Sainsbury’s raise over £120 million for Comic Relief and the retailer is hoping the fundraising efforts of customers and colleagues will make an even bigger difference to help those most in need across the UK and internationally.

Liz Warner, CEO at Comic Relief, said: “Sainsbury’s is a brilliant partner and it is always great to see the stores come to life with merchandise, red noses and more.

We hope that, together with Sainsbury’s and Argos employees, we will raise millions of pounds to help fund projects locally and abroad – saving and changing lives.”

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Sainsbury’s is today lighting up the town of Bude as its unusual supermarket tourist attraction gets a festive makeover just in time for Christmas. The famous car park tunnel is set to become a ‘light up spectacular’, with a guest appearance from Sainsbury’s very own Christmas icon, ‘Plug Boy’, to celebrate the switch on of thousands of LED lights spanning the full length of the tunnel.

The Cornish coastal resort’s unlikely tourist attraction has been the talk of the town, with hundreds of visitors leaving reviews online, rating the tunnel as Bude’s number one tourist destination earlier this year. Upon hearing about a local Christmas initiative called ‘Light up Bude’ – a fundraising effort by the community to put Christmas lights in Bude’s public spaces – Sainsbury’s has stepped in to give the town a festive surprise.

With the support of a number of local schools and companies, the switch on of Bude Tunnel will depict a series of festive colours and changing interactive light displays, accompanied by festive music sung by a local school choir. Visitors will also be able to share their experience via a winter themed photo wall.

Stephen Gent, store manager at Sainsbury’s Bude comments: “We’ve been overwhelmed with the positive response for the Bude Tunnel and we’re delighted to be working with the community to give it all we’ve got and bring the people of Bude something magical this Christmas. It’ll be a shopping trip they’ll never forget.”

The Bude tunnel will be lit up from Friday 7 December, until Thursday 13 December and will still operate as the main thoroughfare between Sainsbury’s Bude and the store car park.

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PizzaExpress is launching a brand new campaign called PizzaExpress Film Club, an on-pack led promotion running on one million pizza boxes exclusively in Sainsbury’s, offering consumers a film with every pack, in partnership with video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service wuaki.tv.

The campaign will run from June 8^th to August 31^st. To claim a film, consumers simply have to purchase a pack and enter the promotional code found inside the pizza box along with their details into the PizzaExpress Film Club promotional website at www.pizzaexpressfilmclub.com, where there are over 1,000 films from which to choose.

The promotional partnership was put together and is being run by brand partnerships and sales promotions agency Lime Communications. Tim Hook, Head of Brands at Lime, says: “We are delighted to be managing this partnership on behalf of PizzaExpress. Pizza is the favoured choice for friends, getting together for a big night in, so offering a complimentary movie makes perfect sense, and as digital download sales look set to surpass traditional DVD sales in the UK for the first time in 2016 , it couldn’t be a better time to launch this exciting and innovative offer.”

wuaki.tv is a (VOD) streaming service operating in Spain, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Ireland. Headquartered in Barcelona, it is owned by Japanese e-commerce and online services giant Rakuten. It provides film club services for a number of companies including EE.

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