Waitrose is a British chain supermarket that was started by Wallace Waite, David Taylor, and Arthur Rose as a small grocery store, Waite, Rose & Taylor in London in 1904. After one of the partners David Taylor left the business in 1908, the company took on the name of the remaining two partners Waite and Rose and became “Waitrose.” The company continued under the leadership of Waite and Rose until 1937, when it was taken over by the John Lewis Partnership. At that time the company had ten stores and 160 employees.
Waitrose opened its first supermarket chain in Streatham in 1955 in London and continued to expand its business by opening other supermarkets all over London and the South East of England. In the 1970s, the company opened outlets in Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex. In 1983, Waitrose became the first major supermarket in the United Kingdom to sell organic food. Since 2000, the company has expanded by buying out stores from Morrisons, Woolworths, and Somerfield.
Waitrose offers a broad range of high-quality grocery items like; fruits and vegetables, fresh meat and seafood, freshly prepared meals, wines, garden tools and equipment, health and beauty products and much more. Waitrose, under The John Lewis Partnership, has 280 branches offering top quality products, value and customer service. Waitrose stores are located throughout the United Kingdom, Scotland and Wales. The company’s vision is to combine the expertise and service of a specialized shop with the convenience of a supermarket. Waitrose is committed to offering its customers the best price so as to ensure that the clients get good value for money.
