Waitrose unveils location of site for first delivery depot

The retailer said it acquired a 1100,000 sq ft property in Enfield, North London, which will be the site for a new CFC to compliment its only other current depot in Coulsdon, South London. 

The grocer said the mutli-million pound new site will open by spring 2020 and will create “hundreds” of new jobs.

It follows the announcement last week that Waitrose had agreed a deal with Today Development Partners – a new ecommerce platform co-founded by one of the founders of Ocado, Jonathan Faiman.

The grocer said the agreement would help triple the size of its existing online business to £1bn in the next three years.

It also promoted former retail director Ben Stimson to the new role of digital director to manage the relationship with TDP and drive the growth of the online business.

Waitrose said it will be able to offer its full range of up to 27,000 branded and own-label SKUs for customers, with one-hour delivery slots and no fee for all orders over £60.

The retailer currently has one operational fulfilment centre in Coulsdon, South London, which opened in 2015.

The grocer has yet to disclose how much the new centre will cost to build.

Stimson said: “Waitrose.com growth is rapid and we know there are many more new customers who would like to buy our products from us online. This centre is the latest in an exciting raft of investments and will ensure they have a really convenient, easy way to do so.”