Cheadle Hulme: Opening

Waitrose Cheadle Hulme 710 opened on 19th July 2007.
The following article appeared in the Partnership in-house magazine at the time.

Cheadle Hulme, our first new build in the north of England, opened its doors after months of hard work and preparation.  The 24, 500 sq ft store is part of our step-change programme of new builds, following on from Ampthill which opened in September 2006 and Lichfield which opened in 2005.  Construction began August 2006 on the Cheadle Hulme store which has space for 201 cars in its new double-decker car park, and has created 178 new jobs.

This is our third branch in Cheshire after Sandbach and Wilmslow. Cheadle Hulme is our first foray into Greater Manchester, bringing our total estate up to 85 stores. Partners from branches all over Group J including Formby, Willerby, Sheffield, Wolverhampton and our Edinburgh branches helped out before and during opening along with several Partners from John Lewis in Cheadle and from the Trafford Centre, who welcomed customers with sample chocolates on the front door and helped pack bags at the checkouts.

In line with Waitrose policy the branch has made a conscious effort to source local food, with between 25 to 30 local suppliers having been taken on already. On opening day an apple juice from Cheshire was being promoted and elsewhere in the shop, local ranges including vegetables from the northwest, a brand of yogurt made in Preston, as well as cheese and ice-cream.
‘Local produce is becoming more and more important to customers, so Group J is trying to respond to that,’ commented Mark, Head of Selling Operations for Group J. ‘Passion for Selling is also a big thing for us and getting Partners engaged with the product. We’ve got the most dazzling assortment here and it’s great to see Partners explaining it.’

28.07.2007
Chronicle Vol 67
No 30