Waitrose to set up shop (From Barry And District News)

Waitrose to set up shop

A MULTIMILLION pound supermarket is set to open in Barry this summer.

Waitrose, the food shops of the John Lewis Partnership, are looking to move into the Safeway site in Palmerston Road

The chain of upmarket, supermarkets is planning to transform the store within the next couple of months.

Spokeswoman Gill Smith told the News: "The old Palmerston Road store will be converted into a new Waitrose as soon as possible.

"We are investing heavily in the site and when work is complete the new shop will offer everything customers would expect of a state-of-the-art supermarket specialising in fresh foods."

She added: "We offer some of the best quality produce from UK farms and around the world. We look forward to welcoming our customers to our new delicatessen, cheese, wine, patisserie, meat and fish counters, so they can judge for themselves. Waitrose Barry will also have a choice of wines selected by the company's acclaimed and award-winning Masters of Wine."

But she also confirmed that until the move is approved by the Office of Fair Trading, the store will continue to trade under the name Safeway.

The store is one of 19 supermarkets across the UK which Waitrose has agreed to buy, following Morrisons' takeover of Safeway.

Waitrose sells about 1,000 organic products, more than 50 types of fish and seafood, fresh pastas, more than 100 different cheeses and British beef and lamb.

All staff who worked at the Safeway shop will be offered jobs at the new site. The company, which has annual turnover of more than £2.7bn, offers employees a bonus distributed as a percentage of their salary.

Other benefits include a non-contributory pension scheme, life-assurance and discounts on shopping.

The existing petrol filling station will be retained by Waitrose.

The move marks the beginning of a new strategy for Waitrose, which has been looking to expand outside of the South of England, its current trading area, for many years.

l Barry Waterfront's new development - turn to page 11.