Waitrose Announces Plan To Open First New Supermarket In Seven Years

Waitrose has revealed plans to open its first new full-line supermarket in seven years. The 30,000 sq. ft. store will be built at Brabazon, a new town in North Bristol, and is expected to open in 2027.

The grocer signed a multi-million-pound agreement with developer YTL Developments to secure the site. The new supermarket will be located in a prime position on the A38 Gloucester Road at the gateway to Brabazon and 500m from a new train station, which is expected to open in 2026.

It will occupy the ground floor of a seven-storey office building, served by an adjacent multi-storey car park with space for over 1,500 vehicles.

Last year, Waitrose announced plans to inject £1bn over the next three years into new stores and improvements to 150 existing shops, almost half of its estate. Whilst it has opened several convenience stores in recent years, it hasn’t opened a new full-line supermarket since before the pandemic.

In May, Waitrose opened its first new store outside London in over six years, with a new convenience outlet in Southwick, West Sussex. Another Little Waitrose shop is due to open in St Andrews, Bristol, before the end of the summer. And later this summer, two more franchised stores will open at Welcome Break road service areas in Hickling, Leicestershire and Newark, Nottinghamshire.

Meanwhile, more than 20 Waitrose sites will undergo refurbishments this year, almost double the number year-on-year.

“We are moving up a gear in store investment as we open in new locations and modernise our existing estate to bring the quality, service and value that customers love about Waitrose closer to more people,” said James Bailey, Managing Director of Waitrose.

“Brabazon is one of the most exciting new city districts in the UK, driving the growth of one of the UK’s most vibrant and successful regional economies. Partnering with YTL Developments at Brabazon underlines our ambition and the opportunity we believe we have to grow our reach.”

NamNews Implications:

• Waitrose appears to be sufficiently confident in their turnaround…
• …that they are committing to new store investment and an upgrading of the current estate.
• With the plan for a new supermarket being an overt demonstration of their intent…
• …time for suppliers to reassess their Waitrose trade strategies in order to keep pace.

Waitrose Latest Retailer To Reaffirm Commitment To British Farming Following Trade Deals

In the wake of the UK signing trade deals with the US and India, Waitrose has stated that it won’t compromise on animal welfare or its support for British farming.

Aldi made a similar pledge yesterday, whilst Tesco’s CEO said early this week that it has no plans to source American beef.

Waitrose head of agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, Jake Pickering, said the retailer stands “shoulder to shoulder” with British farmers and will continue to champion high welfare and provenance across its supply chains.

“We want to reassure Waitrose customers that we will never compromise on our number one animal welfare standards or our long-standing commitment to British farming,” he said.

“All of our own-brand fresh beef, lamb, chicken, pork, eggs and fresh milk are sourced from British farmers to high welfare standards – and we have raised the bar for customers with the Better Chicken Commitment and introduction of our new welfare labelling.”

UK rules currently prohibit imports such as chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef, which are commonplace in some markets.

However, the British farming industry has raised concerns that current regulations could be watered down in future trade negotiations.

NamNews Implications:

• As Tesco, Aldi and now Waitrose plan to resist the appeal of US beef.
• The implications of this stance deserve special mention:
• ‘with little difference between the prices of British-produced beef and US beef that does meet UK standards’…
• …it is unlikely that US Beef will find a UK market.
• In which case, much depends on the UK government’s determination to resist any attempts to compromise quality standards, under US pressure.
• Watch this space…