Waitrose is planning to open dozens of mid-sized ‘neighbourhood’ stores in a bid to challenge M&S Food.

The new shops will sit between the grocer’s full-sized supermarkets and its Little Waitrose convenience stores, targeting suburban areas and commuter towns with high footfall.

The branches are expected to span around 7,000sq ft and stock approximately 6,500 products, with a greater focus on fresh food, larger bakeries and cooking ingredients than its smaller convenience shops. Each site is also expected to offer roughly 50 parking spaces.

Waitrose retail director Tina Mitchell said the supermarket was searching nationwide for “right size, right location” sites in busy areas.

It is understood to have around 20 shops operating in a similar format, including branches in Leatherhead and Oxted in Surrey, Bromsgrove, Knutsford and Jesmond in Newcastle.

Its latest opening at Chelmer Village Retail Park in Essex spans 7,000sq ft, stocks more than 6,500 products and has created 39 jobs.

The store features a bakery, fresh meat and fish counters and a curated range of Waitrose own-label products, including its premium No.1 collection.

Waitrose 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.”

Waitrose ramps up store investment

The neighbourhood rollout forms part of Waitrose’s £1bn multi-year investment programme, which covers new openings, refurbishments and upgrades across its existing estate.

The supermarket is refurbishing 30 branches this year, with improvements including redesigned bakeries and modernised meat and fish counters. It is also preparing to open a 3,000sq ft Little Waitrose in Ascot this autumn.

Further expansion includes a 15,000sq ft supermarket at a former Asda site in East Didsbury, Manchester, alongside a new full-line store at Brabazon in Bristol, which is scheduled to open in 2028.

Waitrose currently operates around 320 shops, as well as stores through partnerships with Welcome Break and Shell.

It is also investing in price as it attempts to broaden its appeal beyond its traditionally affluent customer base.

The supermarket recently committed more than £20m to cutting the prices of over 160 own-brand products by an average of 12 per cent.

This marked its ninth round of reductions since 2023, taking its total price investment to £162.5m across more than 1,000 products.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter