Waitrose has more than doubled the range stocked in its Welcome Break branches and is set to open six new stores in the next four months with the motorway services operator.
Since its first Welcome Break store opened in 2009, it has increased the average number of lines to about 2,000 by expanding into horticulture and homeware and increasing the range of health and beauty products and ‘Good to Go’ salads and sandwiches.
Now, after agreeing to extend its franchise partnership for another 10 years, Waitrose is preparing to expand the network of stores to 25.
The six new stores will be clustered in the Midlands and the North and will include the first Waitrose at a Welcome Break in Scotland, on the M74 near Gretna Green.
“These new branches will give us the opportunity to increase our presence in areas where customer demand is high,” said Waitrose B2B director David Morton, adding that its recently opened distribution centre in Leyland would help support the new stores.
The Welcome Break branches vary in size, but are typically smaller than Little Waitroses, which sell 2,500 lines on average.
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