Growth is back on agenda at Marlborough’s Waitrose supermarket – and it is not only thanks to the Olympics, the return of sunshine weather and people deciding to holiday at home this summer.
For at least two of the rare breed apple trees planted in the Waitrose car park five months ago are bearing fruit as genuine proof that Marlborough’s community orchard project hasn’t been hit by too much rain or the double-dip recession.
Waitrose manager Richard Clare, pictured alongside a rare 19th century apple tree from Buckinghamshire called Grenadier, is delighted.
That is because he helped the prepare the 200ft long apple tree beds on one side of the car park when the project was originated by the then branch manager Andy Davies and Philippa Davenport, creator of Marlborough’s Apple Day events.
“I was a trainee branch manager then,” he recalled. “We had 19 branch managers here all with their shoulders to the wheel preparing the ground. It’s going to take a couple of years for the trees to bed in.
“Then we will have a good crop. That will be a real bonus. And people can enjoy them.”
Meanwhile, there has been a welcome leap in sales at the supermarket, which has some 24,000 customers, coinciding with the launch of the Olympics and the return of good weather.
“There was some pent-up frustration for people,” Richard told Marlborough News Online. “So the barbecues were lit up at last. It was a great opportunity for people in Marlborough to celebrate a national event. That was a fantastic weekend for us.”
And with the sunshine back this weekend, he added: “We have also picked up a little that people are not going away on holiday. It looks like that they have either delayed going away because of the Olympics or are not going away at all.”
Whether holiday-at-home or not is part of the return in trading will be discovered when the Olympics come to an end. “Then we shall see what the legacy is and whether it can be sustained,” said Richard.
He is also pointing out to customers that Waitrose is not part of the row over the price of milk, which has left farmers protesting at cuts in their payments from some supermarket suppliers is forcing them to make a loss.
“Our policy on milk and being fair to the farmers hasn’t changed – we haven’t changed the price we pay our suppliers and we have maintained our prices, not raised them,” he explained.
“We are honouring our suppliers and very much fitting in and following the Waitrose way of treating people fairly. So that ultimately means farmers can plan their finances for the future and our customers can have faith in what we put on our shelves is sourced responsibly.
“We think that is very important in any business.”
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