Charles steps back in frozen time on visit to Iceland
THE Prince of Wales took a trip down memory lane yesterday and visited a high street retailer known for its frozen goods.
Charles began a week-long tour of Wales by visiting the headquarters of Iceland in the Flintshire town of Deeside, and dropping into the cold store – a facility that he opened 34 years ago.
He was joined by Iceland’s Yorkshire-born co-founder and executive chairman Sir Malcolm Walker, who opened the first store in 1970 in Oswestry, Shropshire, with Peter Hinchcliffe, a fellow Woolworths trainee manager. Sir Malcolm’s wife came up with name of the store after the they hit on the idea of selling frozen food loose, which meant shoppers could buy as much as they needed.
The retailer recently opened its 1,000th store, in Newport, South Wales, and today employs a total workforce of some 30,000 people.
During the visit Charles met staff in Iceland’s development kitchen responsible for creating new product ranges, and supply chain teams, who played a crucial role in ensuring stock reached shelves during the panic-buying spree last year, which saw a 30 per cent increase in sales of frozen food.
The prince met and thanked several Iceland colleagues representing the thousands of retail workers who have been on the front line of the Covid-19 crisis.
Charles also took time to praise staff at a vaccine factory for the part they have played in the battle against Covid-19.
He visited Wockhardt UK in Wrexham to see for himself the company’s key role in the vaccination rollout across the UK. Wockhardt has been instrumental in the manufacture of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and carries out the “fill and finish” stage of the process, which involves dispensing the vaccine into vials ready for it to be sent out across the country.
Charles unveiled a plaque to mark the visit.