Waitrose has acquired four new shops in prime London locations from Woolworths, as part of its expansionist strategy this year.
The multiple is hoping to gain an extra 200,000 London shoppers with the stores, which it purchased for £25.5m. They are located in Chiswick, Clapham, Edgware Road and Islington. A phased programme will convert the shops in time for Christmas trading, said Waitrose, creating about 700 jobs.
The stores' layout will be based on the new "design standard" as seen at the Marylebone store (MB&R, October 2007).
The acquisition will add 52,000 of trading space to the chain's portfolio, and "builds on its ambitious expansion plans, which has seen the supermarket develop into a national brand over the past five years".
In three years, the chain has acquired 43 branches, including last month opening its second fresh-food focused Market Town store - in a former Budgens in Buckingham. The next will be a in a former Co-op in Brackley, Northamptonshire.
Mark Price, Waitrose managing director, said of the London acquisitions: "They are sited in our heartland areas where Londoners have been requesting Waitrose
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