Waitrose teams up with Dobbies Garden Centres in new foodhall partnership

Tuesday 19 July 2022

• Waitrose to supply a garden centre retailer for the first time 
• Waitrose to have dedicated area offering 2,000 products in more than 50 Dobbies
• Around 20 new towns and cities to be reached through partnership

Waitrose has today (19 July) announced a new partnership with Dobbies, the UK’s leading garden centre retailer, as we continue to reach new customers by growing our convenience business. 

The agreement is expected to eventually see Waitrose have a dedicated area offering 2,000 products in more than 50 of Dobbies’ foodhalls across the UK. The first launch will be at the Dobbies garden centre in Edinburgh by the end of July, followed by Atherstone in Warwickshire and Brighton in August. 

More locations will be added later this year and throughout 2023. These include around 20 new towns and cities not currently served by a Waitrose shop such as Ayr, Boston, Carlisle, Chesterfield, Derby, Dunfermline, and Gloucester as well as increasing our presence in other locations, including Leicester, Peterborough, Reading and York.   

Customers will be able to choose from a wide selection of products,  including our essential Waitrose range - the biggest value tier of any supermarket - plus our premium quality range, Waitrose No. 1 and Waitrose Duchy Organic. Ready meals, free-from and vegan ranges, prepared fruit and vegetables, snacks and store cupboard staples will all be available. It is the first time Waitrose will supply a garden centre retailer. 

In addition to the new Waitrose offer, Dobbies will continue its existing partnerships with brands including Hotel Chocolat and Cook. Customers can also buy a range of Dobbies’ bakery favourites, as well as locally-sourced produce from its butcher and other concession partners.

James Bailey, Executive Director for Waitrose, said: “Our agreement with Dobbies not only gives us the opportunity to work with a partner who shares our values when it comes to quality and service, but underlines our ambitions to bring Waitrose food and drink to even more people throughout the UK.  It will take us into locations that are entirely new for us and build our presence in other areas where a Waitrose shop may not currently be conveniently accessible despite strong demand for our products.”

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies, said: “Waitrose and Dobbies share a commitment to great value, quality and sustainability. They are the natural partner for us as we look to build on the success of our foodhalls in recent years, which have become a popular part of our customer offer.”

The new partnership builds on Waitrose’s growing presence in the convenience sector through relationships with third parties as we continue to reach more customers and make Waitrose products even more accessible.  

This year we have expanded our partnership with Deliveroo meaning the on demand service will be available in 220 Waitrose locations by this summer as well as announcing agreements with Edinburgh-based convenience chain, Margiotta and Alliance convenience stores in Jersey. We have also confirmed we will supply 125 Shell forecourts by 2025.

About Dobbies

Dobbies was founded in 1865 by James Dobbie and is headquartered near Edinburgh. It is the UK’s largest garden centre retailer, with 74 stores, having bought 37 stores in 2019. The company employs around 4000 team members.

About the John Lewis Partnership 

The John Lewis Partnership owns and operates two of Britain's best-loved retail brands - John Lewis and Waitrose. Started as a radical idea nearly a century ago, the Partnership is the largest employee-owned business in the UK and amongst the largest in the world, with over 78,000 employees who are all Partners in the business. Profits made are reinvested into the business - for customers and Partners. John Lewis operates 34 shops plus one outlet across the UK as well as johnlewis.com. Waitrose has 331 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 59 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. The retailer's omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine and waitroseflorist.com for plants and flowers.