Retailers/Waitrose & Partners/News

Waitrose & Partners news

15 September 2020
Market growth once again slowed in this reporting period as shoppers continued to return to their pre-Covid behaviours, and many stopped shielding. In the 12 weeks ending 6th September take home grocery sales grew by 10.8%, according to Kantar. This was the fifth month to see double digit growth, however was a slowdown compared to the 14.4% growth seen in the previous reporting period. We l...
03 September 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of uncertainties regarding students returning to school in the UK. Parents are equipping their children with new school essentials such as face masks, hand sanitisers and disinfectant wipes to ensure they are safe. With many changes in the way school will be conducted such as no school meals, retailers in the UK are providing inspiration and solutions to he...
01 September 2020
The grocer adds a new route to rapid delivery for shoppers. 12 week trial Over half a million households will be able to shop for Waitrose products via Deliveroo, with deliveries in just 30 minutes. The stores taking part are Bracknell, Clifton, Surbiton, Fitzroy Street (Cambridge) and Notting Hill in the first week of September. If successful, Waitrose will extend to more locations. The...
27 August 2020
Latest developments include queuing solutions, earlier Christmas shopping, a new marketing campaign, and innovative services.... Virtual queuing trial Six Waitrose stores and three John Lewis stores will trial a virtual queuing system, reports The Grocer. The trial will run for four weeks, encouraging shoppers to scan a QR code to hold their place in line. They will receive a text message w...
18 August 2020
In the 12 weeks ending 9th August take home grocery sales grew by 14.4%, according to Kantar. This was a slight slowdown compared to the 16.9% growth of the previous reporting period. Growth slowed as restrictions eased further and shoppers began to return to their normal habits, with average spend declining and frequency of visit increasing. We look at the results in more detail and the lates...
11 August 2020
Natalie Mitchell has been promoted to the role. Promotion to director of technical, quality, innovation and supplier management The Grocer reported Mitchell's promotion, highlighting how it will support the retailer as it seeks to accelerate innovation and differentiate its range by working closely with suppliers. Mitchell joined Waitrose in 2001, working in a variety of roles including ...
04 August 2020
Digital director steps down; click and collect innovation; electric delivery vans. Ben Stimson steps down from role Waitrose's digital director is set to leave the business in September, as Waitrose.com parts ways with Ocado, reports The Times. Stimson was promoted to the role in 2019, prior to which he was retail director, bringing experience of operational and store management from Waitro...
30 July 2020
Following last year's decline in profits and the extreme challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic, John Lewis Partnership has outlined new priorities in its strategic review of the business. The review aims to deliver 'green shoots' in performance over the next 9-12 months and rebuild profits over the next three to five years. Five new priorities Driven by purpose: The partnership a...
21 July 2020
Take home grocery sales continue to rise, with 16.9% growth in the 12-week period up to 12th July, according to Kantar. This was the fastest growth on record since 1994, showing what a significant impact the pandemic is having on shoppers' behaviour. The 12 weeks include sales after the initial phase of strict lockdown in April, capturing the three months following this of eased restrictions for ...
29 June 2020
Waitrose plans to open its third customer fulfiment centre (CFC) in West London, as it aims to ramp up its capacity to serve online shoppers across the capital. Greenford, West London The new site will be based in Greenford, West London, and will be operated in collaboration with third-party logistics provider Wincanton, as part of an initial five-year contract. The new facility is due to c...