Waitrose opens its first store in Bahrain | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

Waitrose has extended its presence overseas with the opening of the first Waitrose shop in Bahrain on 10 February. It will be the third branch outside of the UK with two stores operating in the United Arab Emirates.

The 22,000 sqft store will open through the retailer’s partnership with Fine Fare Food Market LLC (FFFM) and is located at The Lagoon, a new complex on Amwaj Islands on the north-east coast of the country. The complex contains retail, leisure and commercial facilities and the new shop will serve the residential properties that have been developed in the area in recent years.

The supermarket opened its first shops outside the UK in Dubai in November 2008 and sales are“exceeding expectations”, despite the economic climate. Waitrose continues to pursue further stores in the Middle East region.

The new shop offers Waitrose products, including the essential Waitrose range, as well as locally sourced products such as Arabic breads and sweets to meet the needs of the local Bahrain customers. The wide range includes fresh and frozen foods, groceries, delicatessen, cheese, fish, meat, patisserie and hot food counters. Big sellers in the Dubai stores include British cheeses, fresh pasta and yogurts.

The store will create 70 new jobs and FFFM will run its daily operation, supported by Waitrose in the UK, with a focus on delivering the high levels of customer service and fabulous food that shoppers expect from the Waitrose brand.

David Morton, Waitrose director of international development, said:“Expanding our business into the Middle East supports our long-term growth plans to make the Waitrose brand accessible to more people in more places. Following the excellent sales performance and positive customer response from customers in the region, we are thrilled to be opening our first storein Bahrain in such a unique location.

“Our partnership with Fine Fare Food Market LLC enables us to deliver quality food that suits the needs of local shoppers and we’re currently working together to find more suitable locations in the region, with the aim of opening more shops in the Middle East.”

Source: Waitrose

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