Supermarket chain is promising a new retail blueprint for the modern consumer
Waitrose is planning to open up to 100 convenience stores in the UK over the next five years.
The upmarket retailer has teased its vision for future shopping, and is testing new concepts at its John Barnes store in Finchley Road, London.
Its store investment programme will see £1 billion spent over the next three years on new stores and improvements to 150 existing shops, representing almost half of its estate.
Waitrose is using a number of outlets to trial new services, product offerings and concept upgrades over the next 12 months before a new blueprint for Waitrose shops is revealed in 2025.
Key areas that Waitrose believes will set it apart from competitors include upgraded service counters, greater prominence to award-winning wines, more flexibility to respond to local demand, increased third-party collaborations, and more dedicated space for on-demand grocery orders.
The first new Waitrose store in six years will open in Hampton Hill later this year, subject to planning approval, with a second following in Greater London which will open early in the new year. The supermarket said the convenience store will trigger one of its biggest-ever periods of expansion.
Executive director James Bailey said: “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.
“The transformation of our Finchley Road store marks the next evolution of our journey to create a great shopping experience for our customers, underpinned by a high-quality product offering tailored to the local area, and the quality service we are synonymous with.
“In designing the store, we have taken time to understand how our customers like to shop, and used this knowledge to introduce new concepts that will be tested and rolled out nationally as we continue to work towards the Waitrose of the future.”
