Waitrose Limited,

trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Waitrose & Partners, is a British supermarket chain, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. In 1937, it was acquired by the

John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company that operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, financial services and a build to rent operation. The public limited company is owned by a trust on behalf o ...

, the UK's largest

employee-owned business Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...

, which continues to operate the brand. The company's head offices are in

Bracknell Bracknell () is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies to the east of Re ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. As of April 2023, Waitrose & Partners operates 329 shops across Great Britain and the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, including 65 "little Waitrose" convenience shops. They also export products to 52 countries and have locations in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Known for its "upmarket" reputation, as described by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Waitrose has been positioned as a premium supermarket. However, former managing director

Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. The last coaching job he held was as head coach of the Charlotte 49ers men's basketball, Charlotte 49ers. As a four-time NBA All-Star and ...

has said that its prices are competitive with those of

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

, a mid-market chain. The company holds a royal warrant to supply groceries, wine, and spirits to

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

History

Founded in 1904 by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor, Waitrose & Partners began as a small grocery, Waite, Rose & Taylor, in Acton,

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

. In 1908, two years after David Taylor had left the business, the name "Waitrose", from the remaining founders' names, was adopted. In 1937, the company, consisting of ten shops and 160 employees, was taken over by the John Lewis Partnership. In 1944, the partnership purchased the South

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

grocery business Schofield and Martin, which had 12 shops in its chain. In 1955, the chain opened its first Waitrose supermarket in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, London, and continued to expand throughout London and the South East of England during the 1960s. In the 1970s, Waitrose opened branches in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, Essex and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

. On 16 June 2016 the shop's most southerly branch opened in

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. In the early 21st century, Waitrose continued its expansion, which included purchasing shops from

Somerfield Somerfield ( ) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The business started life in the 19th century as grocers J. H. Mills, and after a series of buyouts and mergers, the company became known as Gatew ...

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...

and Woolworths. In 2009 the firm signed a deal with

Alliance Boots Alliance Boots was a multinational pharmacy-led health and beauty group with corporate headquarters in Bern, Switzerland and operational headquarters in Nottingham and Weybridge, United Kingdom. The company had a presence in over 27 countries ...

which allowed Boots to operate branded pharmacies in Waitrose shops and Boots shops to sell Waitrose food products. The partnership between the companies ended in 2012 having been deemed unsuccessful, which led to Boots replacing Waitrose products with items from Irish retailer Musgrave's SuperValu chain. Profitability issues at the end of the decade resulted in John Lewis announcing the closure of five Waitrose shops in 2018 and the sale of a further five Waitrose shops to other retailers in 2019.

Brand and marketing

Waitrose sponsored Reading Football Club from 2008 to 2015, and the

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

for three years from 2013 to 2016. In March 2010, Waitrose released a series of adverts, in print, online, and on national television, featuring celebrity chefs

Delia Smith Delia Ann Smith (born 18 June 1941) is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a direct style. One of the best-known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers to bec ...

and

Heston Blumenthal Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is an English celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. His restaurants include the Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, a three- Michelin-star restaurant that was named the world's best by the Worl ...

Waitrose Duchy Organic

In 1983 Waitrose became the first major supermarket chain to sell

organic food Organic food, also known as ecological or biological food, refers to foods and beverages produced using methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resou ...

, and by 2008 it had an 18% share of the organic food market. In September 2009, Duchy Originals, the struggling organic food business started by

was rescued by Waitrose, which agreed to an exclusive deal to stock the range, and to pay a small fee to his charity. In August 2010, the Duchy range was relaunched with many new lines under the ''Duchy Originals from Waitrose'' (later ''Waitrose Duchy Organic'') brand.

Product ranges

* Essential Waitrose: Aware that Waitrose risked being seen as a food retailer for special occasions rather than everyday shopping, the chain launched its value range of products as "essential Waitrose" in March 2009. The marketing used the tagline: "Quality you'd expect at prices you wouldn't". 1,400 products were branded with this name using simple white-based packaging. Some people poked fun at the range for selling products that are not essential, such as

ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ; ) is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables that originated in Nice and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato, garlic ...

Provençal and

limoncello Limoncello () is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in southern Italy, especially in the regions around the Gulf of Naples, the Amalfi Coast, and Sicily. It is the second-most popular liqueur in Italy and is traditionally served chilled as ...

desserts. Nevertheless, the range was highly successful. By 2016 it had more than 2,000 items and £1.1 billion annual sales, making it one of only five food and drink brands in Britain worth more than £1 billion. * No 1 Waitrose is a range of around 650 premium lines with black packaging. * Cooks Ingredients are spices, herbs and related products with colourful packaging. * Heston for Waitrose is a range of prepared foods such as pies and cakes developed by celebrity chef

myWaitrose loyalty card

In late 2011 the supermarket introduced its first loyalty card scheme, ''myWaitrose''. It differed from supermarket loyalty schemes like Tesco Clubcard and Nectar, giving cardholders access to exclusive competitions and offers instead of allowing them to collect points. It later began to give cardholders 10% off selected products, as well as free tea or coffee in store and money off their shopping for purchasing selected newspapers. Former Managing director

has said that this offer has made Waitrose the second largest provider of coffee in the UK, calling it a "phenomenal" response that showed other schemes offering the different system of loyalty points to be meaningless. He told ''

'': "Giving free coffee or free newspapers is disruptive to the market, but I think that is what customers want, I don't think they want a point. I mean, what is a point? I think it's meaningless. It doesn't have the richness, it doesn't have the affinity you can gauge if you engage with your customers in a different way. It is about what do consumers value today, not what did they value historically. So green shield stamps, or points, were a response to what happened post-war...I just don't think that is where the world is now." ''The Daily Telegraph'' also later reported that Waitrose has faced "complaints from disgruntled middle-class shoppers who claim its free coffee offer is attracting the wrong kind of customer".

Price matching

In 2010, Waitrose began a price guarantee, matching prices of 1,000 items with

. In 2012, it extended this campaign to 7,000 items.

''Waitrose Kitchen'' magazine

In February 2015, ''Waitrose Kitchen'' magazine included an advertising pamphlet, "Taste of Israel", submitted by the Israeli government, in which traditional Arabic foods were referred to as Israeli. The advert prompted a social media backlash against Waitrose.

Corporate practices

Waitrose and its related brands are owned by the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), which is itself owned by its employees, referred to within the organisation as "partners." Employee shares are held in trust by the Partnership—their shares cannot be sold by the individual partners. The partners' economic rewards are achieved through the payment of bonuses, based on the JLP's annual profits. As such, they receive certain benefits, including the Partnership bonus, usually around 10–20% of a Partner's yearly salary in a lump sum paid in March. However, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the Partnership bonus was suspended in both the 2020 and 2021 financial years, angering many Partners as they felt their hard work was not recognised. Waitrose donates a portion of its profits to a group of charities on a proportional basis, whilst individual Waitrose branches manage their own charitable donations and local decisions are made on which charities are to be supported. This is a system called "Community Matters", where customers are invited to choose to whom they want money to be donated. The supermarket launched the Waitrose Foundation in 2005, providing funds for education, worker facilities, and health services among other things for fruit growers in South Africa. This was expanded to Ghana and Kenya in 2009.

Shops

Traditionally, Waitrose branches were largely concentrated in the south-east of England and Greater London; even as recently as 2003, its northernmost English branch was in

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent () or Newark is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. However, the company's expansion northwards and into Scotland since the mid-2000s has changed this significantly: the most northerly Waitrose shop is now located in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, which opened in January 2013. Waitrose opened its 300th shop in

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

on the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

on 23 October 2013. Waitrose shops vary considerably in size. For example, the smallest branch, little Waitrose at King's Cross station, London, occupies only of retail space. Some Waitrose shops incorporate an in-house restaurant selling hot and cold food sourced in the main from the shop. The myWaitrose card, which customers can obtain online, offers free hot drinks from the store's self-service machines with a purchase of goods; this was withdrawn owing to the COVID-19 pandemic but as of February 2023 the coffee offer has returned. Internationally, Waitrose holds a licensing agreement with Spinneys of

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, United Arab Emirates, which operate two purpose-built branches, of which the first opened in the

Dubai Mall Dubai Mall () is the largest shopping mall in Dubai. The mall is part of Downtown Dubai and is located adjacent to the Burj Khalifa. It includes over 1,200 shops. History Dubai Mall was inaugurated on 4 November 2008, with about 1000 reta ...

in October 2008. In the United Arab Emirates, it is an official grocery supplier to the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

, the House of Maktoum.

Convenience shops and little Waitrose

Announcing its foray into the convenience sector in July 2008, Waitrose opened its first convenience shop in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

in December of that year. In September 2009, it was announced that a large scale rollout of the concept was planned, opening up to 300 shops in 5 to 10 years. The new arm will operate in a two-tier environment, with the majority of sites expected to trade from and some trading from a larger floor plate. A trial of a 'little Waitrose' fascia on smaller floor plate shops may yet lead to brand differentiation of some or all of the convenience estate.

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

operates a series of Little Waitrose stores at selected petrol stations in the UK. In August 2024, Waitrose announced plans to open 100 new convenience shops over the next five years.

Welcome Break

In May 2009, Waitrose started a franchise deal with the motorway service station operator

Welcome Break Welcome Break Limited is a British motorway service station operator that operates 35 motorway service stations in England, Scotland and Wales. It is the second-largest motorway service area operator behind Moto. It also operates hotels and ...

Closed / sold stores

Waitrose closed four convenience shops and one supermarket in the UK in 2018. This was followed by the announcement of twelve further store closures in 2019. In September 2020, a further four stores, Caldicot, Ipswich, Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton, were announced as closing, the last having been sold to

2014

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

, Kent

2015

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south south-west of London, west of Brighton and ...

, West Sussex. Re-located to Rustington

2016

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

City Centre, West Yorkshire *

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...

, London

2017

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Queen Street *

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

, Hertfordshire *

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

, Cambridgeshire *

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

, Staffordshire. Re-opened as Lidl *

Palmers Green Palmers Green is a suburban area and electoral ward in north London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is located within the N13 postcode district, around north of Charing Cross. It is home to the largest population of Greek Cy ...

, London. Re-located to Winchmore Hill *

Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames, also known simply as Staines, is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and River Colne, Hertfordshire, Colne. ...

, Surrey. Re-opened as M&S Foodhall

2018

Spinningfields Spinningfields is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It developed in the 2000s between Deansgate and the River Irwell by Allied London Properties. The £1.5 billion project consists of 20 buildings, totalling approximately of ...

, Manchester. Reopened as a Co-op *

Manchester Piccadilly station Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station of the city of Manchester, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. Opened originally as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchest ...

. Reopened as a Co-op *

Colmore Row Colmore Row is a street in Birmingham City Centre in the centre of Birmingham, England, running from Victoria Square, Birmingham, Victoria Square to just beyond Birmingham Snow Hill railway station, Snow Hill station. It is traditionally the ci ...

, Birmingham. Re-opened as Co-op 2019. *

Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal gardens. It mar ...

, London *

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

, London

Spring 2019

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

. Re-opened as Lidl June 2020. *

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...

. Re-opened as Lidl January 2020. *

Blaby Blaby () is a town in the Blaby District in central Leicestershire, England, some five miles south of Leicester city centre. At the time of the 2011 census, Blaby had a population of 6,194, falling slightly from 6,240 in 2001. Given Blaby's pr ...

, Leicestershire *

Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Barry (; ; ) is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is on the north coast of the Bristol Channel approximately south-southwest of Cardiff. Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the resu ...

Ashbourne, Derbyshire Ashbourne is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district in Derbyshire, England. Its population was measured at 8,377 in the 2011 census and was estimated to have grown to 9,163 by 2019. It has many historical buildings and independent sho ...

Autumn 2019

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

Oadby Oadby is a town in the borough of Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire, England. Oadby is a district centre south-east of Leicester on the A6 road (England), A6 road. Leicester Racecourse is situated on the border between Oadby and Stoneygate. ...

Wollaton Wollaton is a suburb and former civil parish in the western part of Nottingham, in the Nottingham district, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. Wollaton has two wards in the City of Nottingham (''Wollaton East & Lenton Abbey'' ...

. Re-opened as Lidl * Sandhurst. Re-opened as Aldi * Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Re-opened as Lidl. *

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

* Waterside building (

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

headquarters)

Spring 2020

* Four Oaks. Re-opened as Aldi. *

. Now a Morrisons *

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town had a population of 64,350 in the 2011 Census. It is surrounded by Purbrook, ...

Autumn 2020

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

. Reopened as Tesco June 2021 *

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

. Now a

Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as baked goods, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is lis ...

Caldicot, Monmouthshire Caldicot () is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. The town is located between Chepstow and the city of Newport, Wales, Newport. The site adjoins the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels, Caldicot Levels, on the nor ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, Corn Exchange

2022

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, London *

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, Tyne & Wear

Online presence

Ocado

In April 2000, the online food retailer

Ocado Ocado Group plc ( ) is a British business based in Hatfield, England, which licenses grocery technology. It also owns a 50% share in the UK grocery retail business Ocado.com (the other 50% is owned by UK retailer Marks & Spencer). The company ...

was launched, with the Ocado service being only available in certain areas of Britain.

came on board as a principal supplier and part owner in October 2000, although the relationship between the two began formally in January 2002. In August 2020, Waitrose announced they would cease operations with Ocado, which ended on 1 September 2020. Ocado partnered with Waitrose's rival store

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

. Arrangements were amended in 2010 to a ten-year agreement to supply products to Ocado. In February 2011, John Lewis Pension trust divested itself of its Ocado shares.

Waitrose.com

Waitrose operates its own delivery service, Waitrose.com (previously WaitroseDeliver), which originally was only available in certain shops, delivering goods ordered through the internet and serviced from the local branch. Not to be confused with Ocado, which is an unrelated business, which formerly had a licence to distribute Waitrose items until 1 September 2020, when Waitrose ended its relationship with Ocado, to instead operate deliveries solely by itself from centralised fulfilment centres. As well as ordinary online groceries shopping, Waitrose.com also hosts the online ordering system for Waitrose's special order food and cakes service "Waitrose Entertaining". Waitrose became the first supermarket to abolish all delivery charges as of May 2009. In October 2011, Waitrose opened a " Dotcom Fulfilment Centre" in Acton, West London, less than two miles from its original shop. The shop employs more than 200 Partners and provides Waitrose internet food deliveries for most of west and central London from a dedicated site. The shop, whilst not open to the public, is laid out in a similar manner to a regular shop and even offers service counter lines, much like a normal Waitrose supermarket. In March 2020, Waitrose announced that it was to add its Waitrose.com online delivery service to 24 more of its stores across the UK in preparation for its split with Ocado in September 2020.

Animal welfare

In 2020, undercover footage was filmed on a farm in Yorkshire that supplied milk to Waitrose,

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

and

. The footage showed goats being extremely badly treated. Waitrose immediately suspended the farm's brand when the footage was released. In 2022, Waitrose signed the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), which calls for the more ethical treatment and slaughter of farmed chickens. They have committed to fully meet BCC welfare standards by September 2025. Since 2023, Waitrose has collaborated with its suppliers to trial electrical stunning as a more humane method of slaughter for farmed prawns, replacing traditional practices such as asphyxiation or immersion in ice slurry. In 2025, the company announced plans to implement electrical stunning across its entire supply chain for farmed prawns by the end of 2026, following discussions with the International Council for Animal Welfare (ICAW). Waitrose has also phased out the practice of shrimps

eyestalk ablation Eyestalk ablation is the removal of one (unilateral) or both (bilateral) eyestalks from a crustacean. It is routinely practiced on female shrimps (or female prawns) in almost every marine shrimp maturation or reproduction facility in the world, ...

within its supply chain.

Awards and acclaims

Waitrose has received a number of awards. Its wines have been given awards by ''

Decanter A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters, which have a varied shape and design, have been traditionally made from glass or crystal. Their volume is usually equiv ...

'' magazine and the

International Wine and Spirit Competition The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine and spirit competition founded in 1969 by the German/British oenologist Anton Massel. Each year the competition receives entries from over 90 List of wine producing countries, countrie ...

. The supermarket chain has also received awards for its retail service, including from ''

Which? ''Which?'' is a United Kingdom brand name that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights, and offering indepen ...

'' magazine.

Compassion in World Farming Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) is a campaigning and lobbying animal welfare organisation. It campaigns against the live export of animals, certain methods of livestock slaughter, and all systems of factory farming. It has received cel ...

and the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

have given Waitrose awards for animal welfare.

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* {{Authority control 1904 establishments in England British royal warrant holders Companies based in Bracknell Employee-owned companies of the United Kingdom John Lewis Partnership Retail companies established in 1904 Supermarkets of the United Kingdom