• Waitrose reveals tie-up with etailer British Corner Shop
  • Grocer will sell more than 2,000 own-label lines through the website
  • Move gives Waitrose presence in new markets including the US and Germany
  • Comes after the retailer launched a similar tie-up with Alibaba to sell goods in China

Waitrose has launched a partnership with online retailer British Corner Shop as part of a drive to sell more of its products overseas.

The upmarket grocer will offer more than 2,000 own-label products – including its Waitrose Duchy Organic, Waitrose Baby, essential Waitrose and Waitrose 1 ranges – through the ecommerce platform, which ships British goods to around 140 countries.

The move, which comes just months after it unveiled a similar partnership with Alibaba to sell goods in China, will allow Waitrose to enter “entirely new territories” including the US and Germany.

The grocer’s commercial director Mark Williamson told The Telegraph: “British Corner Shop gives a global audience access to Waitrose and provides a platform for our British suppliers to showcase the great food and drink they produce.”

British Corner Shop, which ships more than 50,000 orders to British ex-pats every year, said that more Waitrose products, including teas, biscuits and soup, could be added to its ecommerce platform in the future.

The etailer’s managing director Mark Callaghan added: “We know the Waitrose brand will go down well with our British ex-pat customer base, in particular categories such as biscuits and household are in demand – and the Waitrose Duchy Organic brand is often requested.”

New Waitrose boss Rob Collins, who succeeded Mark Price earlier this year, has wasted no time in making his mark at the retailer and is keen to ramp up its international presence.

In April, the upmarket grocer unveiled plans to tie up with Chinese etail giant Alibaba, selling an initial proposition of 30 products through its Tmall platform.

Williamson said at the time that the partnership had the potential to become Waitrose’s “biggest international business in the next three to five years”.

As previously reported, Waitrose pre-tax profit slipped 17% to £66.6m in the year to January 30, driven down by pension costs associated with its parent company John Lewis Partnership.

Total sales also edged down from £6bn to £5.9bn, with like-for-likes falling 1.3%, according to documents filed at Companies House.

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