Health-food retailer Holland & Barrett has unveiled its latest store in London‘s Leadenhall Market within the heart of the capital‘s finance district.
The newly remodelled 1,400 foot store on Gracechurch Street, EC3, will be the chain‘s 712th in the UK and feature bespoke fixtures designed to help shoppers keep healthy on the go.
These include “Shake-A-Whey”, a mix-and-go bar for sports enthusiasts to purchase single protein shakes to takeaway, or top up a bottle they carry with them.
A pick and mix fruit, nuts and seeds stall positioned at the entrance is aimed towards health conscious commuters from nearby London Bridge station. As part of the refresh, the new store will open at 7:30am to serve commuters and also includes an increased selection of chilled food and drinks.
Speaking at the opening, Peter Aldis, CEO of Holland & Barrett‘s parent company NBTY Europe, said the redesigned store reflected the changing profile of health food customers.
“Being healthy means many different things to different people” he said. “In London particularly we are seeing a hugely diverse range of customers shopping for traditional products like Vitamin C, through to special diets, sports nutrition and healthy food-to-go items.”
“That‘s why this new store has been modelled with convenience in mind, to help people maintain their health and wellbeing in the easiest way possible.”
In addition to the new Shake-A-Whey and Pick and Mix fixtures, an extended ethical beauty section contains all natural skincare and make-up products which are free of chemical additives including Parabens and Sodium Laurel Sulphate. Holland & Barrett is part of the NBTY Europe Group which operates more than 900 health food stores globally, including the GNC brand in the UK, De Tuinen in The Netherlands and Essenza in Belgium.
It recently posted pre-tax profits up 30 per cent to £74m on sales up 9 per cent a year to £335m.
Mintel data released this week showed the UK market for dietary supplements for men had grown by 25 per cent this year from £4.1 to £5.1m.
