An off-licence in Wolverhampton is turning into a new attraction as shoppers lining up in front of the stores to take selfies.
The resemblance of the store’s name – Singh’sbury Local, in orange lettering – to Sainabury’s is not exactly uncanny, but the store owner Mandeep Singh Catha asserts that it’s a blend of his name and the road where the store is situated.
“My name is Singh and it’s on Bushbury Road. It’s just a coincidence,” he has said.
Catha said he hasn’t heard from “a supermarket which has a similar name,” adding that he doesn’t expect trademark issues.
“It’s a different logo, a different colour, a different company. It’s completely different,” he contended. “I think the nearest Sainsbury’s is a couple of miles away so it’s not exactly close and we are certainly not competition.”
However, he is not the first Sikh to use the portmanteau word. Jel Singh Nagra of North Tyneside named his shop Singhsbury’s in 2017, but changed to Morrisinghs after Sainsbury’s threatened with legal action.
Morrisons appreciated the “good taste” of Nagra then, and didn’t object to the name.
For Catha, who opened the store last month, the name is indeed a crowd puller.
“People keep stopping in their cars to take pictures with the sign and I’ve had many nice comments.”
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