Waitrose acquires Woolworths sites
UK supermarket chain Waitrose continued its recent expansion today by announcing an agreement to acquire four sites from Woolworths.
Waitrose said it expected to attract up to 200,000 new London shoppers as a result of the stores at Chiswick, Clapham, Edgware Road and Islington.
In three years Waitrose has acquired 43 branches, including the recent addition of Budgens food shops in Buckingham and London’s Bayswater, as well as a Co-op at Brackley, Northamptonshire.
It currently has 189 food shops in England, Scotland and Wales.
Up to 700 jobs will be created as a result of today’s expansion, which will see the shops converted in a phased programme ahead of Christmas.
Three of the four stores are smaller than the average Waitrose store size of 18,000 sq ft. Edgware Road has 21,000 sq ft of space, with the Chiswick site the smallest of the new additions at 9,000 sq ft.
Waitrose managing director Mark Price said: “These acquisitions will allow us to reach up to 200,000 new shoppers in the capital and will support our ambitious growth plans.
“We are delighted to add these prime locations to our portfolio of shops, particularly as they are sited in our heartland areas where Londoners have been requesting Waitrose branches for many years.”
