Waitrose opens 100 new convenience stores in £1bn redevelopment project

Waitrose plans to open 100 new convenience stores over the next five years, the John Lewis Partnership announced on Wednesday.

The 100 new smaller convenience stores are part of the group’s £1bn investment in new stores and refurbishments.

The supermarket chain will open stores in England, Wales and Scotland.

The group said the first new Waitrose store in six years will open in Hampton Hill, south-west London, later this year, with a second at an unnamed London location early next year.

The stores will focus on “areas that differentiate the grocer,” including deli counters, wine selections, dry-aged meat cases and sections dedicated to Parmesan.

It will also focus on expanding collaborations with other vendors, including Crosstown Donuts and Hot Wok meals provided by Sushi Daily.

The group will also refurbish 150 existing stores, almost half of its fleet, over the next three years.

The chain’s John Barnes store on Finchley Road, London, is being used to trial new store concepts. The Finchley Road store will have larger fresh meat and fish counters and a new out-of-hours collection point for online shoppers.

James Bailey, chief executive of Waitrose, said: ‘Waitrose will always offer fantastic food, but the groundwork we have put in behind the scenes over recent years means we can now focus on growing through new stores and ensuring existing ones provide 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 an excellent shopping experience for our customers, supported by a high-quality product offering tailored to the local area and the quality service we are known for.

‘When designing the store, we have taken the time to understand how our customers like to shop and have used this knowledge to introduce new concepts that will be trialled and rolled out nationally as we continue to work towards the Waitrose of the future.’

Nish Kankiwala, chief executive of the John Lewis Partnership, said: ‘Our investment in our Waitrose store portfolio is already delivering strong results and customers are responding positively.

‘As our retail-driven plan continues to gain traction, our growing number of shoppers and rising customer satisfaction scores are clear indicators of its success.’

Waitrose and John Lewis have endured a tough few years, but remain determined to attract shoppers and increase their market share. The group returned to profit in the spring.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the group said: “The latest Kantar figures reported last week show that customers are responding to investment in our offer, Waitrose recorded our strongest growth since November 2023 and continues to gain market share after July figures showed an increase for the first time since January 2022.”

It’s not just food lovers that he wants to woo.

John Lewis is on a mission to boost sales of its clothing lines and hired former Asos executive Rachel Morgans as its new fashion director in June.