Shell’s retail partnership with Waitrose, designed to make every customer’s journey even better, is going from strength to strength. Last week, Artelia UK delivered the 50th Little Waitrose & Partners store at Shell Windsor to much praise from all parties, with comments including:

It looks absolutely fantastic.

Matt Axsel, Shell’s Waitrose Store Launch Manager

We forget about the behind the scenes work that goes on and when we launch it all seems so seamless. Amazing launch, amazing day and a very well done to all!

Patzy Drodz, Shell’s Waitrose Business Manager

The programme has included a mix of full and partial Knock Down and Rebuilds (KDRs), conversions and rebrands, with the Artelia team responding flexibly to project additions and the huge challenges posed by Covid.

Major Projects
Twelve full and partial KDR projects were completed. These involved removal of all fuel systems and the building and replacement of tanks . New shops and canopies were constructed with new fuel systems and forecourt provided.

Starburst upgrades and fit-out
In June, the AUK team was notified that Shell and Waitrose wanted to commence a roll out of five conversions from Budgen to Waitrose. This was much more than a rebranding exercise and involved the strip out of existing shop internals (except where Kale had been fitted in 2019), new finishes, new gondola units, freezers and chillers and a new walk in chiller to account for all the additional fresh produce which forms part of the Waitrose offer.

Waitrose rebrands
The success of the trialled branding and shop internal features led to a roll out of upgrades or refreshes on 26 previously completed Litte Waitrose sites. All projects were carried out whilst the shops continued to trade, with Covid-safe controls applied by contractors throughout. Through excellent programme management and collaboration with contractors, all rebrands were handed over one day earlier than programme with the site duration reduced from 5 to 4 days.