Waitrose reported like-for-like sales up 5.9% on the five days between Christmas and up to December 31, driven by New Year’s Eve party products including Champagne and party food.

The upmarket food retailer said it will open 39 shops this year, creating 3,000 jobs.

Total sales for the five day period were up 9.7%. The strong results follows a successful Christmas when like-for-like sales for the 23 days until December 23 were up 5.4%, and total sales were up 8.9%.

This year Waitrose has 12 full sized supermarkets in the pipeline, including five new branches in the Channel Islands to open between February and April. Other new shops are Stratford, Raynes Park, Wimbledon, Exeter, Marlow and Newton Mearns in Glasgow.

The rest of the stores will be convenience shops in locations including Old Brompton and Palmers Green.

Waitrose managing director Mark Price said: “Our strong Christmas trading figures give us confidence for the year ahead, when we will be continuing to invest in the future growth of our business.

“In the current climate we’re very pleased to be employing 3,000 new partners within our business.”

The new jobs will include management and non-management roles, as well as food specialists in meat, cheese, fish and wines.

Topics