Supermarket shuts Leeds city centre branch

SUPERMARKET Waitrose has closed its store in The Core Shopping Centre in Leeds.

The supermarket said that it had found trading difficult since opening and were unable to make the store commercially sustainable.

It said that following a consultation, the results of which were announced in March, it closed its doors on Tuesday 13 September.

Waitrose would not give employee numbers, but said that everyone who wished to remain with the business has moved to another Waitrose or the new John Lewis department store, which opens in October this year.

A Waitrose spokesperson said: “This was not a decision we arrived at lightly, however having considered a number of options to make the branch commercially sustainable and following consultation with our store Partners, we have sadly been unable to find a solution.

“We are pleased to confirm though that everyone who wished to remain with the business has done so by moving to another Waitrose or the new John Lewis department store, which opens in the city this autumn.

“We share the disappointment this has caused for our customers and are grateful to everyone who has written to us to express their support.”