The supermarket giant has announced plans to expand its store portfolio across the UK.
John Lewis, which is in a retail partnership with Waitrose, revealed that the firms latest profits would be used to freshen up its grocery stores.
It comes after the company reported a pre-tax annual profit of £56million compared with a £234million loss the year before.
While staff will pass up a bonus as a result, customers will benefit from newly refurbished Waitrose branches.
The group plans to overhaul 80 supermarkets in addition to opening a string of new branches
According to the John Lewis Partnership, this would allow for “continued improvement” in profit this year.
Some stores have already been given a makeover, including the oldest Waitrose branch, which opened in 1945.
After being closed for six weeks, Waitrose Temple Fortune has reopened with a new look after a full refurbishment.
Customers will find a brand new layout and modern look in the North London store, which holds the title of the oldest Waitrose to trade in the same shop location.
New refrigeration, an enhanced look and feel to the fruit and vegetable area and a relocated wine department are among the most notable changes inside.
Chris Dey, Branch Manager at Waitrose Temple Fortune, said: “All the Partners here at Temple Fortune were really excited about the reopening of our shop.
“The shop itself is looking absolutely fantastic, and the customer feedback so far has been brilliant, with many saying that the shop feels so much brighter and bigger thanks to the new layout. We can’t wait to welcome many more customers back over the coming weeks.”
Releasing its annual results for 2023, the John Lewis Partnership said that a million more customers shopped in its stores last year, spending £12.4billion.
Figures showed that Waitrose sales rose by five percent to £7.7billion, with a record number of customers choosing to shop at the supermarket chain.
However, the trend is not the same across John Lewis stores, as evident in the four percent decrease in spending. According to the retailer, sales of fashion and beauty products did well, but it saw weaker sales in home and technology.
Despite cutting costs by £88million over the past financial year, with changes to staff hours and “simplified ways of working” across its shops and central teams, the group signalled further job losses.
In January, John Lewis said it was planning further cuts its workforce over the next five years in order to boost profitability.
Express has contacted Waitrose for comment
