The premium grocer Waitrose will expand its store portfolio by around a third over the next three years in one of its “biggest periods of expansion” as it ramps up investment into ‘Little Waitrose’ convenience shops.
The Berkshire-headquartered company will invest over £1bn in a project to open 100 new stores and revamp a further 150. It currently operates just over 350 stores across the UK.
The new stores, which will be Waitrose’s first in six years, will focus on the “areas which differentiate the grocer”, including service counters, wine selection and collaborations with third-party eateries.
Nish Kankiwala, chief executive officer of the John Lewis Partnership – which has owned Waitrose since 1937 – said that investment in the Waitrose store portfolio has “already yielded strong results”, with customers “responding positively.”
“As our retail driven plan continues to gain traction, our growing number of shoppers and increasing customer satisfaction scores are clear indicators of its success,” Kankiwala said.
“This is a result of our unrelenting focus on improving the customer experience of our retail businesses, taking the love that exists for both brands and making sure customers are rewarded with better shops, the highest quality products, and the best service,” he added.
Recently, Waitrose has been battling Marks and Spencer to win over middle-class shoppers. Earlier this year, it cut prices for the fifth time in twelve months.
The company’s market share rose by 0.1 per cent to 4.5 per cent year on year in the last quarter, while sales reached just over £5bn, up from £1.44bn in 2023, according to Kantar.
Marks and Spencer had a market share of just under four per cent as of April 2024.
Finchley store to be used as a tester
The company said the grocer’s store in Finchley Road, London, will be used to “trial new services, product offerings and concept upgrades” over the next year “before a new blueprint for Waitrose shops is revealed in 2025.”
The store has been closed for the last six weeks to be fitted out with text concepts, including a Parmesan counter and chilled wine department.
James Bailey, executive director for Waitrose, said: “Waitrose will always offer fantastic food, but the groundwork we have undertaken behind the scenes in recent years means we can now focus on growth through new shops and ensuring our existing ones are providing great shopping experiences that match the quality of our products.
“The transformation of our Finchley Road store marks the next evolution of our journey to create a great shopping experience for our customers, underpinned by a high-quality product offering tailored to the local area, and the quality service we are synonymous with.
In designing the [Finchley] store, we have taken time to understand how our customers like to shop, and used this knowledge to introduce new concepts that will be tested and rolled out nationally as we continue to work towards the Waitrose of the future.”