Well, that was interesting.
Quite a few people turned up because of the rumours of a new Waitrose store, rather than to taste the wine and cheese. The initial mood was polite but hostile (it didn't help that one of the Waitrose posters had the words "resistance is futile" on it - which made them sound more like the Borg than someone who couldn't resist chocolate cake).
That part of the evening was quickly put out of the way, though, when Clive from Abergavenny asked for any questions about Waitrose.
So, straight from the horse's mouth (so to speak) Waitrose have no plans to expand into Hay. We are too small, and too far south to cover Mid Wales. What they are very interested in is a new store in Hereford (he called this 'top priority') and a store in either Builth Wells or Llandrindod Wells. They are just waiting to hear back about a bid they've put in for Llandod.
What he was keen to talk about was their home delivery service, run from Abergavenny - and they cover a huge area, bigger than any other Waitrose branch. They can even provide a limited range of John Lewis items, mostly kitchen and bathroom, I think. The nearest John Lewis is now in Cardiff, and apparently doing very nicely, thank you.
Other expansion plans he mentioned were into the Welcome Breaks places on the motorways, and into Boots, where the snacks will in future come from Waitrose.
I also read recently that they have taken over Duchy Originals from Prince Charles.
I had supposed, wrongly, that we would be standing around with our glasses of wine while we munched the cheese at random, but it was far more organised than that. Each of the five wines (three whites and two reds) were accompanied by a different cheese, brought to the tables, and Clive certainly knew his stuff about them all. There were also bits of bread to go with the cheese - one of them with figs in coming from a loaf that they sell at £3.95! He was a bit hazy about prices for the other things - he left his notes behind in Abergavenny!
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3 comments:
I am glad that Waitrose is not setting up shop in Hay, it certainly would stuff up the local shops. I didn't really think they would (Hay seems way to small for them to bother) but it did have me a bit worried for awhile ;-)
I am glad that Waitrose is not setting up shop in Hay, it certainly would stuff up the local shops. I didn't really think they would (Hay seems way to small for them to bother) but it did have me a bit worried for awhile ;-)
I would almost agree with the lady who wanted to move nearer to a waitrose shop. Getting on for 80 yrs, the run to Abergavenny gets more horrific. But the food there is definely top class, and therefore less waste, and cheaper. Many of us shop at JL and Waitrose for ethical reasons of which I am sure you are aware, but sad to use the fuel to get there. So thank goodness we now have waitrose deliver. (one van instead of 50 cars). PS do enjoy your blog.
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