Woodley 143 and 180: Opening

Waitrose Woodley c1970
John Lewis Partnership archive collection
Waitrose Woodley c1970
John Lewis Partnership archive collection

Waitrose Woodley 143. 1970 -1983

The first Waitrose Woodley, branch 143, opened on 15th September 1970, in the middle of a sizeable shopping centre. The store opened with a staff of forty six full-time, nineteen part-time and twenty seven weekend Partners, managed by Mr A Smith who had transferred from Waitrose Temple Fortune. Several other Partners transferred from Heelas in Reading, including Mrs S Potts and Mrs H Beale.  The store closed on 21st May 1983, making way for the new store which opened as branch 180, situated approximately 100 yards away.

Waitrose Woodley 180. 1983-present

Waitrose 180 opened on Tuesday 24th May 1983. The branch was almost double in size, meaning more jobs. A total of  202 Partners, including 53 newcomers, were managed by Mr Melvyn Gifford. “We have introduced a self-service wine department and loose fruit and vegetables.”

Advanced technology was installed at the new store to save energy and to warn of any refrigeration failures. Mr Paul Ovstedal was the Assistant Development Manager responsible for the development of the reopening: “The opening and closing times of the shop have been fed into a central computer – lights come on automatically two minutes before opening. Heat sensors automatically adjust heating levels, and in the evenings the computer calculates how quickly the shop will cool and when to turn the boilers off.”

Comments about this page

  • This has made me laugh. I worked for Waitrose in Woodley January – September 1983. I was 19/20. I started on a Management Training Programme. Those were in the days when the old store closed closed at 18:00. Monday mornings was a late opening so we could do stock taking! I worked on the Non-Food Section and Rebecca Tomlin was my manager. Her husband, Gary, was Fruit & Veg. Manager. I think they moved to Sussex. Neil Wheatman was there at that time too. Susie Mears worked evenings and weekends. I remember Ken being very fussy about what you could or could not ‘display’ when working on the tills! All tattoos had to be covered and only one set of earrings! He was so funny…and naughty! Was Janice Ternent short and blonde? I seem to remember a Janice who was on the Graduate Training Programme at the time. In fact, when I was working for Savills Estate agents in Sunningdale (2005-2012) I remember popping into Waitrose to get my lunch and I’m sure Janice ‘was suited and booted’ on the shop floor. Clearly, she made a career out of it. Fun days but the ‘Supermarket Sweep’ wasn’t the career I desired!

    By Paul Clinch (01/05/2020)
  • I was a Saturday girl from 1985 to 1987 good times with Helena Dixon Lindsey Balchin ,Robert Edwards Hayley Vanderslys David Hobbs Steve McGregor Chris bland Richard Stewart Andy Bowers etc sorry if I’ve not mentioned anyone

    By Karen Brook (03/09/2019)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.