Canada Place stores feature updated layout, more bar space and a packed events programme says branch manager Amy Stickland
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While we often cover new retailers and hospitality venues opening their doors in Canary Wharf, they by no means account for all the change that’s taking place on the estate.
Waitrose and John Lewis, which has long dominated the eastern edge of Canada Square has recently undergone a freshening up.
First of all Gail’s arrived beside its main entrance in the malls, kicking off a series of tweaks and refinements all aimed at serving Wharfers with what they want more efficiently.
That’s meant a remodelling in places, more space for the iconic shop floor wine bar, longer aisles with products arranged more logically for convenience, a boost to the freshly baked items on sale and an extra 11 self-service checkouts for those grabbing lunch.
Upstairs, John Lewis customers now walk straight into the store’s Christmas shop and toy department with fashion for men, women and kids brought together in the same location and puzzles and games given their own space.
There’s also a real sense that both brands are working to make a visit to the store more interactive with a packed programme of events, promotions and happenings scheduled.
Overseeing the investment and change is partner and branch manager Amy Stickland, who’s been heading the Canary Wharf operation for the last two years.
a passion for retail
“Being in charge here is everything I imagined and more,” she said.
“I’ve always loved retail. I remember going to the shops with my dad as a kid and seeing all the food on offer, getting to be a part of those choices.
“I actually did a generic degree in management with IT and Spanish and did a placement at a tech firm but my heart wasn’t really in it.
“After my final year I got a place on the Waitrose graduate scheme and I’ve just celebrated 18 years of service.”
Having managed John Lewis stores in Stratford and Chelmsford as well as Waitrose in Billericay, the opportunity to work with both brands on the Wharf was too good to pass up.
“It was a brilliant opportunity,” said Amy. “The blend works well here and the teams are able to collaborate as well as work separately.
“There are challenges, of course, when you’re leading a team of 470 people, but I’m really lucky to have some amazing colleagues.
“Our model of co-ownership, where partners have a stake in the business, makes them feel connected to it – there’s a sense of responsibility there.
“The team really care about the service they’re giving because they know our success depends on it.
“In such a busy marketplace, with so many other retailers, that’s one of our big attractions, people know we really want to go the extra mile, to surprise and delight our customers.
“They come here expecting great service and because of all the other guarantees such as our ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ promise, people believe they don’t need to shop around as much.
“It’s up to us to deliver on those expectations when it comes to price and customer experience.”
logical layout
Part of that operation involves ensuring the store itself is fit for purpose and that products are where customers expect to find them.
This is why both Waitrose and John Lewis have spent the past few months rebalancing things in the Canary Wharf store.
“We’ve extended our physical shelf space by extending two of our aisles,” said Amy.
“From a situation where we had food and non-food items mixed together, we now have the left hand side of Waitrose for things you can eat and the rear right of the store for things you can’t.
“On the left there are scratch cook and store cupboard items, breakfast options, snacks and drinks, while over the other side it’s products for laundry care and toilet tissue.
“It does take a bit of time for customers to get used to the new layout, but we hope overall that the journey and the product placement makes more sense, refreshing the shop floor and making it feel more intuitive.
“Also on the food floor, there’s a re-energising of the main payment area with an additional 11 self-scan tills with a better layout.
“We’ve preserved what we call the stunt space where brands such as Heinz can come in and we saw that used quite a lot over the summer.
“It’s a little bit of retail theatre and we want to continue to make use of it with pop-ups and interactive give-aways – a nice moment at the start of someone’s shop.
“We’ve refreshed the wine bar, changing the orientation of some of the seating.
“It’s convenient and excellent value and customers love it for the people watching.
“It has some very loyal customers – one even told me they could write a book about it.”
overhauling Waitrose wine
In fact the whole wine section has had an overhaul with bottles grouped by whites, reds, rosé and sparkling.
More of the fine wine selection has been brought out onto the shop floor with the glassed-off area instead used for more convenient storage.
“It’s more efficient and it makes it easier for customers to shop,” said Amy.
“Our fantastic wine specialist Nat will continue to host wine and cocktail tasting events to help introduce customers to our range.
“We’ll also be hosting interactive experiences every weekend in December.
“That will be a great opportunity for people to bring their families.”
This touches on a wider point.
“While the Wharf of old was very much a weekday destination, increasingly customers are shopping at the weekends with their kids.
“Canary Wharf Group has done a fantastic job in reinventing the estate,” said Amy.
“We see a lot of families at the weekend now and our Saturday and Sunday trade is really growing post-Covid.
“Early on we get scratch-cooks shopping for ingredients.
“Then the children arrive with families often having lunch on the Wharf and then grabbing something nice for dinner.
“Even though our hours are shorter on Sunday, the shop is still busy after closing with partners dashing around to fulfil online grocery orders.
“We’re introducing a new dedicated space for our partners at the front of the store as we work with Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat.”
meal deals and free parking with Waitrose
While Saturday sees the biggest take at the tills, transaction rates during the week eclipse all others with working Wharfers attracted by one offer in particular.
“Our meal deal is one of the most popular things we sell,” said Amy.
“It’s fantastic value for £5 – you get a main such as a sandwich, a snack and a drink.
“For many customers that’s their main mission at lunchtime and the quantities we sell are phenomenal.
“But people visit the store for many different reasons.
“You get people driving into the Wharf who make use of the free parking when you spend £10 with us.
“They get two hours on weekdays – which is exclusive to Waitrose – or three at the weekend.
“You can even order your groceries to be ready for collection from the car park at Canada Place.
“Typically after work people are buying food for their evening or grabbing emergency purchases.
“It’s also a big attraction to have the John Lewis range on the upper floors.
“There’s always things we’re looking to do in future, more products we’d like to add.
“I’d love us to have a more compelling beauty offer and with more fashion brands opening on the Wharf we’ll definitely be looking at more men’s and women’s clothing.”
As for the more immediate future, with Christmas already in full swing with foodie treats downstairs and festive decorations in place, Amy said her team were looking forward to welcoming customers over the next month.
“We’ll be hosting a special Waitrose Christmas Customer Evening in Canary Wharf on December 12, 2024,” she said.
“We’ll be having some fantastic music and people will get the chance to taste some of our festive range too.
“It’s a free event, taking place from 5pm-7pm so there are no tickets to worry about.
“People can just drop-in.”
WHAT’S ON IN-STORE –
As the festive season gets into full swing, Waitrose and John Lewis in Canary Wharf have planned a packed programme of events to engage shoppers.
Here we list just some of the happenings to watch out for over the coming weeks in 2024…
- The store will be hosting live music every Saturday and Sunday until December 22. Performances are free to watch
- The Salvation Army is set to perform outside Waitrose on the mall level in Canada Place from noon-5pm on December 14
- John Lewis will be hosting toy demonstrations on the shop’s ground floor in the toy department at 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays until December 21
- The shop will also be running a series of food tastings in its Christmas shop at weekends, also at 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays until December 21
- Customers will be able to post a letter to Santa in the run-up to Christmas beside John Lewis’ main tills at ground floor level
- Visitors to the store can take part in the Elf On The Shelf Treasure Hunt, with those finding all six receiving a Merry Minis collectable and a special sticker as well as the chance to enter a prize draw for a £500 gift card
- Father Christmas will be making a very special visit to the Canary Wharf store on December 5 and 6 for Santa’s Tea Party. Tickets cost £17.50 per child plus a £1.75 booking fee and £6 per adult (includes a hot drink and a slice of cake) plus a 60p booking fee with early morning slots still available
- The store will also be running a series of talks and events for My John Lewis members including fashion masterclasses focused on versatile styles and cosy clothing for adults and children. The store will also be hosting a series of Christmas Treetorials offering advice on decorating that festive essential
GET THE BEST – £5 Meal Deal
Nobody asked us, but we love value at Wharf Life and the Waitrose £5 Meal Deal is a stone cold Canary Wharf classic.
All selections are not created equal, however, so we set about trying to max out the deal by picking the most expensive items included for the main, snack and drink.
Top of the list is the GLO Pulled Beef And Onion Salad offering an impressive 397 calories and 22g of protein for a list price of £4.80.
Our chosen snack is the Taiko Mini Nigiri, including salmon and cucumber sushi.
This costs £2.50 off the shelf and adds about 150 calories and a further 4.9g of protein to the mix.
Top that off with Jimmy’s Iced Coffee at £3 for another 148 calories and 8g of additional protein and there you have it, products worth £10.30 for £5, 695 calories and 34.9g of protein.
Prices correct as of 11/2024
key details: Waitrose and John Lewis
Waitrose and John Lewis in Canary Wharf are located in Canada Square and are open daily.
Full details of all events at the store are available online, including links to book tickets where appropriate.
Find out more about festive events at the store here
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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
