Waitrose to refurbish 30 stores as part of £1bn investment

The retailer also announced plans to open a new Little Waitrose c-store in Ascot, Berkshire, alongside plans to expand its motorway services partnership with Welcome Break.

The new Little Waitrose c-store is set to open in the autumn, while the Welcome Break partnership will be extended to four more locations, taking the total to 33.

Waitrose completed seven of the planned refurbishments in the last month, while new stores including a full-line supermarket in Chelmsford, Essex, and a new distribution centre in Bristol are on track to open this year.

“We are investing in our physical estate to bring the best of Waitrose to more customers in more places,” said Waitrose head of physical estate Alun Jones.

“From new shops and franchise growth to refurbishments across our existing estate, these investments reflect our confidence in the role our shops continue to play in how customers want to shop with us.”

The retailer reopened its new-look Barnet, north London, store on March 13, which included newly upgraded service counters “modernised meat and fish counters with an extended range, including a new dry-aged beef counter”.

The store’s bakery section has also been refurbished, and the site features new electronic shelf-edge labelling, which Waitrose said was designed to “free up partners to serve customers”.

Waitrose has invested heavily in installing new refrigeration in the store, which it said would improve energy efficiency.

The store also has a dedicated in-store John Lewis click-and-collect desk for faster customer collections and returns.