First Little Waitrose Opened By Wandsworth Leader
East Putney store started trading on Tuesday
Councillor Ravi Govindia officially opened a little Waitrose in East Putney on Tuesday.
The convenience store is the first in the borough of Wandsworth, adjacent to the East Putney tube station and part of the new Langham Square development. The store is open Monday to Sunday from 7am - 10pm.
The store has created 49 jobs, all employees have now become Partners in the John Lewis Partnership, the UK’s largest and oldest example of employee ownership. As Partners, they will be entitled to benefits including leisure and learning subsidies and a share in profits in the form of an annual bonus. The little Waitrose will also be taking on Omran Williams, as part of a 12-month apprentice scheme. Omran has joined the business following work experience at the High Holborn store.
Ravi Govindia, leader of Wandsworth Council, said:
“I’m delighted to open Wandsworth’s first Waitrose convenience store here at Langham Square. The shop will be a valuable addition to East Putney and brings another 40 new jobs to our borough. Not long ago this site was home to an outdated and largely empty office building, but has now been utterly transformed. It’s an attractive, high quality development that sets a high standard for others to follow on Upper Richmond Road.”
Julia Maguire, Branch Manager at the new Waitrose in East Putney, said:
“Upper Richmond Road is an extremely vibrant location and we are confident that a Waitrose store will be a good addition to the excellent variety of shops already here. We are keen to play our part in attracting even more shoppers to the area.”
Each little Waitrose branch gives away £500 every month to local charities and projects through its Community Matters scheme and Partners donate 100 hours every year to helping local causes through our Partner Volunteering scheme. There are now 303 Waitrose branches throughout the UK and nearly a third of stores fall within the M25. Later this year, another little Waitrose will be opening in West Hampstead.
January 22, 2014