![\"Lagardere](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0x0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This rendering shows Waitrose and Relay having equal weight on branding. <\/p>\n
Waitrose\/Lagard\u00e8re<\/p>\n
Waitrose, the upscale supermarket arm of U.K. department store operator John Lewis Partnership (JLP), will open its first airport store at London Heathrow\u2019s Terminal 2 (The Queen\u2019s Terminal) this coming May. The popular brand\u2019s arrival will be in partnership with the UK & Ireland subsidiary of French global airport retailer Lagard\u00e8re Travel Retail<\/a>.<\/p>\n JLP\u2014which operates 36 John Lewis department stores across the U.K.\u2014had opened a flagship 36,000 square foot John Lewis store at Heathrow T2 when the terminal first opened in June 2014. However, the large unit struggled financially, possibly due to the format and lack of an appealing offer for international shoppers, and was eventually closed in mid-2020 along with seven other stores<\/a> in the U.K. that were particularly impacted when the Covid pandemic hit.<\/p>\n This time, the airport approach is more cautious. By partnering with LTR through a wholesale arrangement, JLP\u2019s grocery arm is accessing a partner with strong experience in the airport channel, in both food and beverage (F&B) and retail.<\/p>\n Waitrose products\u2014chiefly food-to-go items including the brand\u2019s premium No. 1 range\u2014will initially launch in four of LTR\u2019s Relay stores<\/a> in T2 using dual fascia branding. Three of the stores will be airside (accessible to passengers only) and one landside (accessible to anyone), with all four due to open by the end of the year. Competitor M&S\u2014another trusted U.K. supermarket favorite\u2014already operates several stores at Heathrow and two at London Gatwick Airports, the U.K.\u2019s two busiest gateways. <\/p>\n The LTR deal exposes the Waitrose name to more international customers in a high-traffic location with less risk, and supported by Lagard\u00e8re\u2019s know-how. In a statement, the supermarket said: \u201cThe move forms part of Waitrose\u2019s strategy to grow through additional channels alongside continued investment in its own shops and online business.\u201d<\/p>\n Heathrow T2 serves around 20 million arriving and departing passengers a year in one of the world\u2019s busiest airports. The U\u2019K.\u2019s only hub has just been ranked second again<\/a> behind Dubai International, among the world\u2019s top international gateways. Heathrow has held onto its position despite its capacity constraints due an overloaded two-runway system. A third strip has been approved<\/a> in principle and is progressing through the planning process.<\/p>\n Waitrose looks for distribution channel growth <\/p>\n On the Relay deal, Waitrose\u2019s chief commercial officer Charlotte Di Cello, said: \u201cLaunching at Heathrow is an important step in growing our brand. In partnership with Lagard\u00e8re, our food-to-go offer will build on the progress we\u2019re already making in travel retail, alongside investment in our own shops and online offer.\u201d<\/p>\n In the British market, Waitrose has been on a roll. It achieved a tenth consecutive quarter of customer growth, in FY25\/26 (ending January 2026). This has pushed its share of JLP\u2019s revenue of \u00a313.4 billion ($18.1 billion) to 60%. In travel retail, if all goes well with Lagard\u00e8re, the grocery retailer may be able to scale, initially in other British airports, and then further afield if if an international expansion strategy proves viable.<\/p>\n Lagard\u00e8re has described the Waitrose deal \u201cas a key component\u201d of its blended \u2018travel essentials\u2019 and \u2018food-to-go\u2019 strategy at Heathrow, by bringing the best of the High Street to the airport. Relay is very much aiming to reinforce its position as a go-to store for core travel lines and now, with Waitrose convenience foods.<\/p>\n Nicholas Dunne, commercial director of Lagard\u00e8re Travel Retail UK & Ireland, commented: \u201cThis partnership marks a significant step in our ambition to elevate the food-to-go experience. It demonstrates our ability to leverage cross-business expertise and partner with leading High Street brands to adapt their offer to specific traveler needs.\u201d<\/p>\n For Waitrose, the Relay entry at Heathrow offers a low\u2011risk test bed for its broader travel\u2011retail ambitions, while Lagard\u00e8re strengthens its food\u2011to\u2011go credentials in a very competitive airport environment. If the partnership delivers, it could mark the start of a bigger push by the supermarket. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This rendering shows Waitrose and Relay having equal weight on branding. Waitrose\/Lagard\u00e8re Waitrose, the upscale supermarket arm of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18329,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[8410,8412,8406,8407,27,8405,8411,8408,1998,8404,8409],"class_list":{"0":"post-18328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-hybrid-retailing","9":"tag-john-lewis","10":"tag-john-lewis-partnership","11":"tag-lagardere","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-london-heathrow","14":"tag-mixing-fb-and-retail","15":"tag-shopping-at-london-heathrow","16":"tag-u-k","17":"tag-waitrose-to-test-airport-retailing","18":"tag-where-to-eat-at-london-heathrow"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116440494434872994","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}