Sign In Get Started

Waitrose takes on M&S Food with 7,000-sq-ft neighbourhood stores

Stocks● Neutral

Waitrose takes on M&S Food with 7,000-sq-ft neighbourhood stores

2026-07-27 07:17 UTCBy AlphaScala Research DeskSource reporting: retailgazette.co.ukEditorial standards

Waitrose takes on M&S Food with 7,000-sq-ft neighbourhood stores

Waitrose opens dozens of 7,000-sq-ft neighbourhood stores with fresh counters and 50 parking spots, taking on M&S Food in suburban and commuter towns as part of a £1bn investment programme.

Continue with

Boeing Locks $3B Revolver, $5B Liquidity Covenant After Expired Facility

How to start trading stocks as a beginner?

Waitrose is opening dozens of mid-sized 'neighbourhood' stores to challenge M&S Food head-on. The shops sit between full-size supermarkets and Little Waitrose convenience outlets, targeting suburban areas and commuter towns. Each branch spans roughly 7,000 square feet, stocks about 6,500 products, and offers around 50 parking spaces.

The format focuses on fresh food, larger bakeries, and cooking ingredients – a noticeable step up from the grab-and-go selection in Little Waitrose stores. Waitrose retail director Tina Mitchell said the chain is searching nationwide for "right size, right location" sites in busy areas.

The retailer already has about 20 shops operating in a similar format. Examples include branches in Leatherhead and Oxted in Surrey, Bromsgrove, Knutsford, and Jesmond in Newcastle. Its latest opening at Chelmer Village Retail Park in Essex follows the same template, creating 39 jobs.

Chelmer Village branch manager Richard Upton said: "We've wanted to expand Waitrose in Essex and bring our fantastic quality products to even more food lovers in the area."

The rollout is part of a £1bn multi-year investment programme that covers new openings, refurbishments, and upgrades across the existing estate. Waitrose is refurbishing 30 branches this year, with redesigned bakeries and modernised meat and fish counters. It is also opening a 3,000-square-foot Little Waitrose in Ascot this autumn, a 15,000-square-foot supermarket at a former Asda site in East Didsbury, Manchester, and a full-line store at Brabazon in Bristol scheduled for 2028.

Waitrose currently runs about 320 shops, plus stores through partnerships with Welcome Break and Shell.

The neighbourhood format fills a specific gap. Full-size supermarkets can exceed 25,000 square feet, while Little Waitrose stores are typically under 3,000 square feet. The 7,000-square-foot format allows Waitrose to offer a curated range of own-label products, including the premium No.1 collection, with fresh meat and fish counters that smaller stores cannot accommodate. It also provides customers with more cooking ingredients and bakery options than a convenience shop can stock.

Mitchell's "right size, right location" comment suggests the chain is looking for specific demographics. The targeted suburbs and commuter towns tend to have higher disposable incomes but not necessarily the population density to support a full-size supermarket. The 50 parking spaces are a deliberate feature, distinguishing these stores from city-centre convenience shops that rely on foot traffic alone.

Waitrose is also investing in price to broaden its appeal. The supermarket recently committed more than £20m to cutting prices on over 160 own-brand products by an average of 12%. That was its ninth round of reductions since 2023, bringing total price investment to £162.5m across more than 1,000 items.

The pricing strategy targets the same middle-market shoppers that M&S Food competes for. M&S has been expanding its own store network and pushing into more suburban locations, making the direct competition with Waitrose increasingly visible. The neighbourhood format gives Waitrose a vehicle to match M&S on location and product range, while using price cuts to reduce the perception of the John Lewis Partnership grocer as exclusively premium.

The Chelmer Village store stocks more than 6,500 products, including the No.1 premium line, alongside fresh counters. That combination of premium and value offerings at a smaller footprint is the test case. If the format works in Essex and Manchester, more suburban sites are likely to follow.