Waitrose has unveiled plans to open as many as 25 stores across Scotland within the next five years, after two successful openings in Edinburgh in 2006 and positive reaction to an announcement of its first Glasgow store, which is due to open this November.
Richard Hodgson, a commercial director of Waitrose, a division of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “We are actively looking at sites in Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth and Dundee, as well as at additional sites in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“Glasgow can certainly sustain more than one Waitrose store and we believe Edinburgh can sustain more than two.
“There is clearly untapped potential in all the conurbations in Scotland. We have a property team looking at sites all the time.”
He said the group’s new openings are more likely to come from acquisitions of existing sites from other supermarket chains than through the construction of new stores.
After the Co-operative Group’s £1.6 billion acquisition of Somerfield last year, the Manchester-based business was required to dispose of 150 stores. However, Hodgson said most of these units are too small for Waitrose, which has a preference for retail units of around 20,000 sq ft. “The only one that we’ve been able to take over so far has been the one on Byres Road.”
The store opening programme is dependent on finding appropriate sites but Hodgson added: “I’d be very disappointed if we don’t have a much greater presence in Scotland within the next five years.”
Waitrose said on Friday its share of the UK food market had overtaken that of Marks & Spencer for the first time. It said its British market share had grown to 4.2%, compared with 3.7% for M&S. Waitrose also said its sales rose 12.1% in the week ending July 11, compared with the same period last year.
Waitrose became the first company to sign up to the Scottish retailers’ charter, launched by the government in June. The charter aims to create a responsible approach between retailers and suppliers. Hodgson said: “We fully endorse the Scottish government’s commitments to encouraging local and regional sourcing, high animal welfare and environmental standards.”
This article was published in The Sunday Times on 19 July 2009. View on Times Online