Waitrose confirms new stores to kick off £600m investment

Waitrose has confirmed the location of two brand-new convenience stores, as well as plans to refit a further 20 of its existing supermarkets throughout 2025, as part of its accelerated store investment plan. 

The supermarket has agreed deals to open new Little Waitrose stores in Southwick, West Sussex and St Andrews in Bristol. Both stores are expected to open by the end of summer, with more new locations set to be announced throughout the year, The Grocer understands.

They are the first new locations confirmed by Waitrose as part of the £600m investment into stores and supply chain announced by the John Lewis Partnership in its annual results this week.

It follows the opening of a new Little Waitrose store in Hampton Hill in November, which was its first new company-run location for a decade. Waitrose intends to open up to 100 new convenience stores by 2029, as part of an ongoing store investment plan announced last year.

Alongside the new openings, Waitrose intends to refurbish 20 of its existing supermarket sites – an increase on the 14 it overhauled last year. The Grocer understands Newbury, Bridport and Swaffham are among the locations set to receive investment as part of the programme, which kicked off at Waitrose’s John Barnes store in London last year.

Waitrose has ‘turned the dial’

Waitrose enters the rest of 2025 in a buoyant mood, following a tripling of pre-tax profits at the John Lewis Partnership. The performance was driven by 4.4% sales growth at Waitrose, leading executive director James Bailey to declare Waitrose had “turned the dial” on its recent struggles thanks to investments into availability, price and customer experience.

The partnership intends to self-fund its investment plan thanks to a “strong financial footing”, following the paying back of £300m in bond debt in January, which left it with its lowest debt position in “two decades”.

“Customers are responding positively,” said JLP chairman Jason Tarry. “More are shopping with us. Satisfaction scores have improved, and loyalty membership continues to grow in both brands.

“There is still lots more for us to do, with considerable catch-up investment needed in our stores and supply chain, but this is a multiyear transformation,” Tarry said.

The Grocer understands Waitrose intends to fully roll out new customer service training as part of the investment. In September, 58 Waitrose stores began trialling a version of the programme, which is called Passionate Partners, as revealed by The Grocer.

The training will now be rolled out across Waitrose’s entire 330-store estate, including recent Grocer 33 winner Waitrose Bagshot, which will adopt the training from Easter.