Waitrose opens first new grocery store in eight years in north London | Waitrose

As a part of a £1bn investment plan, Waitrose has chosen Cricklewood in north London as the placement for its first grocery store in eight years.

The upmarket grocer will open the shop on Thursday and one other grocery store in Hale Barns, Greater Manchester, subsequent month. It additionally plans 4 smaller shops subsequent yr, together with a grocery store in Oakham, Rutland, and three comfort shops in Bedminster (Bristol), Chalk Farm (London) and Springstead Village (Cambridge).

In 2024, Waitrose, which has greater than 300 supermarkets, stated it deliberate to speak in confidence to 4 massive supermarkets and 100 convenience stores over 5 years and would additionally refurbish a lot of retailers introducing meat, fish and sushi counters, on-site bakeries and nice wine sections.

Tina Mitchell, the retail director at Waitrose, stated: “Our supermarkets present the final word showcase for all the things that units Waitrose aside – from our unmatched high quality and industry-leading welfare requirements to the skilled service of our companions.”

This yr the corporate – led since January by the previous Tesco government Tom Denyard – additionally plans to refurbish 29 shops.

After a tough interval, when gross sales had been hit by IT issues which led to gaps on cabinets, Waitrose is holding market share, in keeping with the newest figures from market analysts Worldpanel by Numerator. However, the chain is coming beneath stress from Marks & Spencer, which now has the next share of the grocery market, beneath some measures, after opening a lot of new food-led retailers.

Sales at Waitrose rose 4% within the six months to 1 August. However, its underlying working revenue slid by £7m to £103m because it invested in preserving costs down and bettering its loyalty scheme. It was additionally hit by larger vitality prices in the course of the summer time warmth wave.

Waitrose’s guardian firm, the John Lewis Partnership – which is owned by its workers – reported a £98m pre-tax loss within the half-year to 1 August, as gross sales fell on the shops regardless of heavy asset placement in updating the retailers.

The firm has been decreasing the variety of workers it employs immediately because it tries to trim prices.

On Wednesday, the partnership introduced it had signed its first company-wide union recognition deal. The collective settlement with Usdaw, the shopworkers’ union, comes forward of recent rights of union entry in workplaces that come into pressure on the finish of this month.

Joanne Thomas, the overall secretary of Usdaw, stated: “Usdaw already has members working inside the corporate affairs and this settlement will strengthen that presence and assist us in supporting and representing members throughout the partnership. We now stay up for rising our membership and affect inside the partnership and to working with the partnership’s administration on finalising the small print of how the settlement will work in follow.”