Waitrose announces opening dates for Guernsey stores

Waitrose can today reveal that its first food shop in Guernsey will open on Thursday 10 March 2011 in the Rohais.

The Admiral Park store will open the following month on Thursday 7 April 2011.

The Safeway and Checkers shops which were bought from Sandpiper earlier this year will be taken over by Waitrose for refurbishment on 7 February (Rohais) and 10 March (Admiral Park)1. A multi-million pound investment in the shops by Waitrose will include an extensive makeover of each branch before they open their doors.

Waitrose is still recruiting for the new job positions it has created at the shops2 and all employees will become Partners in the John Lewis Partnership, entitling them to a say in how the business is run, and an annual share in its profits from next year.

Both the Rohais and Admiral Park stores will have stylish cafés, offering shoppers a choice of drinks, snacks and made-to-order dishes. They will also sell a range of homeware products, including some John Lewis branded goods.

Shoppers at both shops will benefit from a wide range of fresh foods, including dedicated meat, fish, delicatessen and cheese service counters. They’ll be able to pick up items from the supermarket’s award-winning wine collection, its essential Waitrose range of over 1,400 affordably priced, everyday items, and a host of produce sourced from the island.

Guernsey Chamber of Commerce President, Julian Winser, commented, “The Chamber of Commerce welcomes any new business to the Channel Islands. In this case we are particularly pleased as Waitrose are an extremely well known brand.”

Graham Heald, Waitrose Retail Services Director, comments “It’s a very exciting time for all of us as we gear up for the openings next year. With only three months to go until the first branch opens, there is still lots to do, but the plans for the shops are well underway. They will both be receiving a fresh new look and stylish fittings in which to display our tempting array of food.

“Our buying team have been working hard to make sure that our shops reflect the local community and have been delighted with the breadth and quality of food and drink that’s produced in the island. Before the shops open we will also be investing heavily in the training of all our Partners and we look forward to receiving more applications for the positions available within the stores over the coming days.”

Applications for managerial and non-managerial positions can be submitted online. Extensive training for successful candidates will take place before the shops open in 2011 and there will be exciting opportunities for some to become meat, fish, cheese and wine specialists.

Heard today that the cost of goods are going to be more than in the UK sounds like another "Rip Off" to me...

Waitrose are a little dearer that other stores, but quality is so much better. Unlike Tesco who pay their suppliers so little that they just get what the French markets turn down, ie rubbish.

My father in law's favourite saying was ' You get what you pay for'.

I will still shop at the co op for my big weekly shop

it would appear that waitrose is going to charge extra on goods in the islands..just like m&s..disgraceful imo x

May I remind you that the average wages in Guernsey are a fair bit higher than in the UK. Any company will always charge what the local market can bear.

they need to be higher as the cost here are also very high for basic food stuff .

kat wrote:I will still shop at the co op for my big weekly shop

Me too Kat...love my dividend!

the wages are higher kingcolemk as is the cost of living..why should prices be anymore expensive than in a store say in aberdeen.they still have to ship goods up there.do they charge more in the other islands eg isle of man,northern ireland,isle of wight,jersey ..would be interesting to try and find out x

Because that is a fact of life Thistle, higher wages means higher prices therefore higher cost of living. It ever was so, the old vicious circle, the whole world over.

Not all of us in the island are on hight wages .in fact many manual workers are on lower that the uk .it is these who struggle to feed a family and also we have many of our elderly and disabled who cannot afford any luxuries at all and have to pay for everything even going to the doctor and paying for medicine is crushing for many.

very true kat ..something else the uk doesnt have to pay for seeing a gp or paying to use a&e...the price of coal is almost double the uk price,electricity more expensive ,gas more expensive..whilst it appears to some people in the uk that we are very affluent people not all of us are.

Much like Sweden in the 70s and 80s where it became the norm for both husband and wife to go out to work, resulting in rising prices. Which meant of course that families with only one wage earner were disadvantaged. Nothing new in that, there are always anomalies in any system.

As for our free Health service, Pah !! I would rather pay as you do for a far better service.

I would also be surprised if your energy prices were much higher than our's, if at all. Our bills have doubled in the last 5 years alone and our petrol is now £1.20 a litre.

I'd wait and see when they open, it could all be just unsubstantiated rumors. When Safeway operated there (Safeway plc, that is) they charged UK prices. If Waitrose want to be a success, they should do the same. The percentage extra that they make that would go to the VAT man should cover much of the freight costs. In the weekly shopping basket survey in the 'Grocer' magazine, Waitrose are usually a couple of pounds or so more expensive on a 50 pound basket. Given that stores like Co-Op are not renowned for cheap shopping, they could even work out cheaper!

There is no VAT on food here, which is Waitrose's main business.

There is on M&S stores ,,it is the essentials that costs so much here .like bread, milk and such

I think you'll find that there is VAT on many supermarket items, which is why we are faced with the daunting task of re-pricing come January. Some supermarket till receipts (Morrison's certainly do) show the amount of your total bill that is VAT.
LINK

There is VAT on some supermarket items, but not basic foodstuffs.

kingcolemk our petrolprices are almost the same as yours now and it will be rising again next month..i do know that our electricity is much more expensive as is our gas..m&s charge us the vat on sweets,chocolate,,cakes etc+ an extra 5%...as for the doctor our system is not that much better than yours and it costs us £37 to see the doctor + £12 paid by the state..at my surgery it costs £21 for a blood test.you also get mobility allowance which disabled people over here dont get..we pay an ambulance insurance or risk paying £200 for a one way trip in an ambulance..clothes etc are charged at uk prices...food prices are much more expensive than uk...

When I had to see a GP in Guernsey with severe stomach pains, I was seen the same day, sent to the hospital for an X-ray and a scan. Back to the doctor next morning to get his report to take back to my own doctor.

In the UK I would probably have to wait a couple of days to see my GP. She would order a scan, for which I would eventually get an appointment for 3/4 weeks hence. I would then wait 2 weeks before going back to my GP for the result. She would then order a follow up scan, which would be another 6 week wait, then 2 weeks to wait for the results again.
So what takes 24 hours in Gurnsey would take at least 14 weeks here.

In addition to all this the NHS is controlled by the government via a quango called NICE. They dictate what drugs and treatment you are allowed to have. In some cases they literally decide if you are to live or die.

So please don't get the idea that the NHS is in any way as good as your Health Service.

Regarding petrol, bear in mind that your price includes vehicle tax. I pay £280 / year on top of my petrol cost.

you were lucky to be seen that fast .as when j have my leg bad the first time i had the appointment letter two weeks later ,and 3 month wait to see a specialist .
visitors to the island get priority

that is true kat...i have always had to wait for weeks to see the specialist... even a flu jab is over a week wait x

Not all food is subject to VAT in UK.For example: plain biscuit NO VAT but same biscuit covered in chocolate is subject to the full rate.Out of interest(nerd)Waitrose essentials ginger ale is the same price at Safeways as it is in the UK.I'm happy to pay the same and let the supplier use the saved VAT to cover his freight.