Sainsbury's Freezer Centres were a frozen food chain operated between 1974 and 1986, the shops were entirely dedicated to frozen food. Due to competition from specialist frozen food chains such as Bejam, Sainsbury's converted its original service shops that were too small for modern use to small frozen specialist shops. Despite initial difficulty as only 11% of the population owned a freezer, the chain expanded to 21 shops at its height. As freezers became more popular, frozen food departments were designed into Sainsbury's main supermarkets, and the chain was sold to Bejam in 1986, who were ultimately sold to Iceland in 1989.