UK upmarket grocery retailer Waitrose is planning to follow-up a strong 12 months in its domestic market with a major overseas expansion strategy, which will target growth through new store openings and the use of the Waitrose name as a premium brand.
The retailer, which already operates two franchised stores in Dubai in partnership with Finefare Food Market, has announced that it will open new outlets in Bahrain, Oman and Abu Dhabi later this year, after the Dubai stores recorded 60 per cent annual sales growth.
Waitrose managing director Mark Price told the Guardian that the company was planning to open between 20-23 stores in the Middle East in the near future.
The grocer revealed it had also made progress marketing the Waitrose brand to overseas destinations – Mr Price told the newspaper the retailer doubled its business-to-business global sales to over €110m (£100m) during the past two years, adding that it now exports to 25 countries, including China, India, Thailand and the Bahamas.
Closer to home, Waitrose will also begin marketing its branded products in its core UK market through pharmaceutical retailer Boots later this month as part of the strategy to establish the company name as a standalone premium brand.
In its financial results for the year ended 30 January 2010, the John Lewis-owned supermarket operator said that gross sales for the previous 12 months had increased by 9 per cent to €4.9bn (£4.5 bn), which included like-for-like store growth of 3.6 per cent.
During the year, Waitrose opened 25 new stores, including 13 acquisitions from Somerfield and the Cooperative Group.
The retailer said it had already opened two new branches since the year-end, adding that it planned to launch a further 20 stores during the course of 2010.
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