Bejam
| Private | |
| Successor | Iceland |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Defunct | 1989 |
| Headquarters |
Stanmore, London, United Kingdom |
| Products | Groceries |
Bejam was a British frozen food retailer founded by John Apthorp in 1968, based in Stanmore. The concept of selling only frozen foods was a novel idea at the time, and Bejam grew out of Apthorp's existing family business of E. A. D. Apthorp, potato merchants who delivered in and around Edgware and Stanmore. Bejam also sold electrical appliances with the Bejam brand name, including freezers, refrigerators, microwave ovens and dishwashers.
Bejam bought the Victor Value chain of supermarkets from Tesco in 1986 and Wizard Wine in 1987[1]. In 1989 Bejam was bought by its rival Iceland, despite still being a success and being three times bigger than the Iceland chain. The shops were rebranded to carry the "Iceland" name, and some are still trading as such today.
Bejam is an acronym for Brian, Eric, John, Apthorp and Millie; the names of the Apthorp family members.
References
- Adrian Room, Corporate Eponymy: A Biographical Dictionary of the Persons Behind the Names, Page 17, McFarland & Co, 1992, ISBN 0-89950-679-8
- Adrian Room, Dictionary of Trade Name Origins, Page 38, Routledge, 1982, ISBN 0-7102-0174-5
- David Boylan, Antony Head, Corporate Finance: Principles & Practice, Page 314, Pearson Education, 2007, ISBN 0-273-70644-6