First ever ‘little Waitrose at John Lewis’ opens

The ‘little Waitrose at John Lewis Watford’ opened its doors to customers for the first time today.

The new shop, which represents a £2 million investment by the retailer and has created 30 jobs in the local area, builds on the established little Waitrose format and will enable customers to pick up Waitrose products whilst shopping at the John Lewis Watford department store.

In 10 weeks, 5,500sq ft of back of house space has been transformed into a ‘little Waitrose at John Lewis’ shop. Run by John Lewis Partners especially for the John Lewis customer, it features a bakery counter and meat and fish counter manned by specialists. The food offer is built around core groceries including fresh fruit and deli products as well as convenience ranges.

Customers will also be able to stock up on an extensive range of ales and beers, and a large assortment of fine wines and champagnes as well as fresh flowers and store cupboard items, including laundry and cleaning products.

The opening follows yesterday’s win for John Lewis at the ‘Which?’ Awards where the business achieved the accolade of Best Retailer.

John Lewis managing director Andy Street said: “We are committed to making the shopping experience as seamless as possible. By working closely with Waitrose, our customers will now be able to buy products from both brands in a convenient and efficient way. The little Waitrose at John Lewis shop is a brand new concept for the business and we’ll be looking closely at how it is received by shoppers in Watford before considering how it could be introduced at other shops across the UK.”

Waitrose retail director Rob Collins added: “Since its launch two years ago, the little Waitrose brand has provided us with greater flexibility in bringing our offer to new audiences as well as building on our reputation for quality. The arrival of little Waitrose at John Lewis Watford is the latest example of how we aim to respond to our customers’ needs, ensuring they not only have access to our ranges and services, but can shop as conveniently as possible whether they are doing a top up shop or just picking up a quick snack. There are still many parts of the country where customers cannot access the Waitrose brand easily and convenience is integral to unlocking much of that opportunity.”