UK retail group John Lewis has reportedly approved a £134m (US$213.2m) investment to refurbish its chain of Waitrose supermarkets.
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Over the next three years, the money will be spent on the chain’s new corporate identity, new refrigeration units and new tills, including self-scanning tills. Waitrose also plans to devote more space to fresh foods and improve its home delivery business, reported the Daily Telegraph.
Waitrose also plans to extend a fifth of its existing stores. The expansions will require further investment, providing planning permission is granted.
The company plans to add another eight stores to its 143-strong chain next year, and may also try to acquire some stores from whichever party ends up buying the Safeway supermarket chain.
“We’ll have to see what happens with Safeway,” Waitrose sales and marketing director Mark Price was quoted by the paper as saying. “It’s difficult to say how many stores we would like, but we are interested in acquiring [Safeway] stores in those areas which fit our demographics.”
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By GlobalDataWaitrose’ same-store sales rose 5.4% for the six months to 1 August, while total sales grew 10.4%.
Price said the company’s sales had been strong in recent weeks during the hot weather. “We did a really good job at keeping product on the shelves. People talk about high-level strategy, but it’s about your ability to have product on the shelves for your customers,” he said.
