Waitrose to open 100 convenience locations across the UK in £1bn drive

Supermarket chain Waitrose has revealed it will open 100 new convenience stores across the UK over the next five years as part of a £1bn investment drive.

The funding will also go towards refurbishing exisiting shops , with the plans unveiled at an ugraded store in Finchley Road, north London.

New stores will begin popping up by the end of the year, the retailer says, with the first set to open in Hampton Hill, west London, by the end of 2024. It will mark their first new opening in six years. Four of the new stores will reportedly be larger ones, while 100 will be ‘Little Waitrose’ locations.

Waitrose executive director, James Bailey, said the new stores will feature “more of what people expect from us and love such as counters, unequalled service and a lot more fresh food.”

The business says the investment will see stores upgrading their service counters “at a time when many food retailers are removing theirs.” They point out the success they’ve had, with 12 percent of counter-bought Parmesan sales coming from the Finchley Road store.

“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,” said Mr Bailey.

The move comes at a time when Waitrose begins to regain market share, recording its strongest growth since November 2023 in the three months to August 4. It’s thought competition from rival Marks & Spencer and shoppers seeking cheaper options during the cost of living crisis both impacted the business.

The supermarket chain has not revealed where it will be opening most of its new stores, but does say the second will also be located in Greater London, putting it alongside the majority of their locations.

However, the business says the expansion will “look to reach more customers having served a record 15 million last year.”

At present, most Waitrose stores are located in the south of England, with 54 of around 360 operating inside of London. It has no stores in long stretches of North Yorkshire, the Scottish border, and the north of Scotland. This is far less coverage than rival chain Tesco for instance, which operates in 4,273 locations across the UK.

It is also the most expensive supermarket chain, according to the Which? retail watchdog. The group’s monthly supermarket price analysis shows that an average Waitrose shop (63 items) would set a buyer back £146.98 – 29 percent more than cheapest chain Aldi at £113.87.

Analysis conducted in recent years says there is a marked ‘Waitrose effect’ on property value, with a home near one of its chains boosted by as much as £36,000.