Waitrose is understood to have hired a head of convenience as it gears up to take on the likes of Sainsbury’s Local and M&S Simply Food.

The grocer has appointed Anthony Wysome, a former senior project manager at Waitrose, to the role.

A Waitrose spokeswoman told The Independent: “We would hope to be trialling a shop within six to nine months.”

The convenience shops are likely to be between 3,000 sq ft and 4,000 sq ft. Waitrose is also trialling a market town format. It opened its first in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, in May and a second in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire last month. It will open another in Brackley, Northamptonshire, next week.

The move will pile further pressure on Marks & Spencer, which last week unveiled like-for-like food sales down 4.5 per cent and parted company with its food director Steve Esom. M&S will also face its shareholders today in what is expected to be a lively AGM.

Topics