Supermarket chain Waitrose is to ramp up its presence in the
It confirmed today that it plans “to create a significant impact on the convenience market through the development of new formats and channels”.
Waitrose is to trial small convenience shops of 2,000 – 4,000 sq ft in the new year.
These will be in addition to the progress the retailer has made opening new format convenience stores of 5,000 – 7,000 sq ft.
The first branch opened in
Two more are due to open in Crouch End, N8, and Oxted,
This move gives Waitrose an overall potential for 300 convenience branches.
Waitrose also confirmed that it will roll out its franchise partnership with Welcome Break to a further nine sites with the potential for additional stores.
The first three are planned for November 2009.
The supermarket also plans to exploit a number of joint development opportunities with Boots UK.
Last week, Waitrose reported an increase of 7.4% in gross sales and 18.7% in operating profit (excluding property profits) for the half-year ending 1 August 2009.
Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose, said: “By opening up these new channels and formats, we’ll be making Waitrose accessible to more customers in more places and we’ll be able to create thousands of new jobs.
“We’ve just reported a robust first half of the year and with continued strong performance from our existing stores and this move into the convenience market, we’re planning for double-digit growth for the foreseeable future.”
