Waitrose is to open in Uckfield

Waitrose, the food shop of the John Lewis Partnership, has announced it is to open in Uckfield this August.

Waitrose has reached an agreement with The Co-operative Group who own the 13,000sq ft, store at 96-98 High Street to acquire the shop and transform it into a Waitrose supermarket.

The existing Co-op employees at the shop will be given the opportunity to join the business and, in addition, it is expected that up to 50 new jobs will be created in the local community.

Waitrose employees are Partners in the John Lewis Partnership, the UK’s largest and oldest example of employee ownership.

This entitles them to a say in how the business is run, shopping and leisure discounts and a share in profits in the form of an annual bonus.

This year saw existing Partners receive 18% of their annual salary in bonus.

Recruitment for the positions will begin in the next couple of weeks with jobs being advertised online at www.waitrosejobs.com.

The store will continue to trade as a The Co-operative Food until July 28 and will be handed to Waitrose shortly afterwards.

Waitrose will then carry out a multi-million pound refurbishment of the store.

Nigel Keen, Waitrose Property and Development Director said: “We believe the new store provides us with the perfect platform to realise a long-standing ambition to have a store in Uckfield and cannot wait to welcome our new customers this summer.

“By adding to the choice of shops already available here, we are confident we can play a positive role in the local economy and help attract shoppers to the high street.

“We pride ourselves on being part of the community and hope to uncover some local producers who may want to supply the store as well as supporting local projects through our Community Matters initiative.”

Of vital importance to Waitrose is the provenance and traceability of the products sold in store - buyers typically source products from smaller growers and suppliers, where possible close to individual stores.

Waitrose has also confirmed it will commit £12,000 each year to local charities and projects in Uckfield which have been nominated by customers as part of its Community Matters initiative.