Waitrose has announced it has signed a new deal to open stores at two of Britain’s busiest motorway service stations .
The upmarket grocer said its first franchise deal with Welcome Break will create 50 jobs and help it reach nine million new customers.
The first motorway store will open on May 1 at Oxford Services on the M40, one of the busiest motorway service stations in Europe, with the second opening at South Mimms on the M25 on May 15.
The two 2,500 sq feet outlets will be the company’s smallest to date and will offer more than 850 product lines. Customers will have access to the shops from 7am until 10pm, every day of the year.
Waitrose Managing Director Mark Price said: “This move into franchising and motorway service areas builds on our recent ventures into other new formats such as Market Town and Convenience – all designed to provide flexibility around our growth ambitions and increase awareness of our brand.”
A spokesman for Waitrose, which is about to open its 200th supermarket, said it would see how well the new shops performed before deciding whether to add to its service station store portfolio.
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