DIYWEEK.net

Waitrose opened its new Food & Home store in Leeds this morning, with a broad home offer central to the new format.
The Meanwood shop aims to marry its food offer with a stylish homewares range, incorporating both John Lewis-branded items and products from other well-known brands such as Tefal, Jamie Oliver and Le Creuset.

The store will introduce a number of new concepts, including a new café offering a made-to-order menu and mini recipe cards allowing customers to recreate the dishes at home. The café's cutlery and crockery will be available in the store's cookshop, which will be located in the heart of the store, along with a large range of cooking utensils, cook and bakeware.

The shop's home offer will also include bed and bath, home and living and baby and child departments.

A newly created Order & Advice counter will be available for shoppers to talk through e-commerce needs with in-store advisors, including buying flowers, seasonal hampers and home items.

Waitrose Meanwood branch manager Mike Cooper said that more than 1,800 people had applied to work at the store within 72 hours, from which a team of 250 employees has been selected.

He added: "From food to homewares, we feel that there is something for everyone. Full of new concepts, the store has a number of firsts for Waitrose, for example it's our first shop on stilts and the first one to install travelators. The new format café has set a new standard for supermarket catering and is perfect for shoppers wanting a break before or after their shop. The integration of food and home departments is seamless, making it a real destination shop."