Waitrose Goes Green With Deliveries

Thu, 09 Apr 2009
 
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Waitrose is trialling Britain’s first electrically-assisted delivery bike in an effort to boost its environmental credentials.

Delivery staff at Waitrose in Poole, Dorset, are using the electric bike to deliver groceries to customers within a 15-mile radius of the store.

According to the supermarket, up to 20 bags of ordered goods can be stored in crates towed along by the bike, which can keep products frozen and chilled for up to two hours. Riders even have a boost button to help them up steep hills.

Waitrose said it will also lend wheeled containers to shoppers who cycle to its stores in a bid to get consumers to participate in their green agenda.

Bosses at the Poole branch said the idea for the electric delivery bike came about as they wanted to increase their online delivery capabilities without adding to the number of vans on the road.

Store manager Sarah Candy said: "I guess it is a bit of a throwback to the old days of grocery boys."

"We wanted to increase the number of deliveries to local customers. But sometimes it doesn’t make sense to put a van out in busy traffic as the deliveries take a lot longer as well as the impact on the environment."

Waitrose said the initiative could be rolled out across other stores if the trial proves a success.

Earlier this week the upmarket retailer reported a 16.7 per cent rise in sales to £80.79 million in the week to Saturday 5 April as cash-strapped shoppers stocked up on special food promotions.

The surge in business also helped lift sales at struggling parent company John Lewis by 9 per cent last week.

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