Waitrose has revealed plans to launch stand-alone cafés within three years.
Speaking at the British Retail Consortium’s annual symposium in London today (8 June) Waitrose MD Mark Price said the UK retailer was looking to open stand-alone cafés, should the roll out of in-store cafés within its current stores prove successful
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The upmarket retailer plans to install cafés in one-third of its store estate by the end of the year.
Last year, Waitrose was reported to be in talks to buy sandwich shop chain Eat, although the retailer declined to comment on the speculation.
The current major M&A story in the UK food retail sector involves Iceland Foods. Failed Icelandic bank Landsbanki plans to sell its 67% in the frozen-food retailer and a number of UK grocers have been linked to the business, including Morrisons and Asda.
Speaking to just-food, Price said Waitrose “would not consider” a bid for the whole of Iceland Foods but would look at individual stores if they became available.
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