Saar store delights customers

Leading upmarket British food retailer Waitrose, which opened its first outlet in Bahrain at The Lagoon in Amwaj Island, opened the doors to its second venture in a new BD4.2 million mall opposite St Christopher’s School in Saar Ö fondly labelled as ‘mum’s tuck shop!’

Fresh bread, fruits and vegetables, salads, deli and an impressive array of meat products were placed on display as customers from the surrounding neighbourhood and across the island flocked to check out the delights in store.

The first paying customer last Thursday morning was mason Ajay Ram who popped in with his colleague Harminder Singh to buy yoghurt for his midday snack. A little stunned by the bouquet of flowers offered to him as he paid for his favourite dairy item, he said the store will prove to be of great convenience for people like him who worked in the area.

Following closely in his footsteps was GulfWeekly’s own shopping guru Susan Tealby checking out the cost of products for her ‘shopping trolley’ weekly column and Josie Mihia, who lives close-by and works at a nearby school. She said: "I used to have to depend on taxis to get to the nearest grocery store but this is great – I can now just walk!"

Also showing support for the store’s opening were Leslie Moorey, who lives in Janabiya, and Gary Palmer who is visiting her on holiday from the UK, both of whom have long associations with John Lewis, the supermarkets UK parent company, as ‘partners’ – the term given to employees of the retail giant. Leslie explained: "It feels like home. It is going to be my little supermarket and I am going to be here all the time!"

The region’s stores are managed by Fine Fare Food Market and in the kingdom by its local company Supa Save Bahrain, with support from Waitrose, with the proud claim of offering the community the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop.

Fine Fare Food Market CEO Johannes Holtzhausen said: "Food retail can be a lot of things but it is not sexy or glamorous. It is very repetitive and fast moving and most of the time it is very hard work.

"What I can assure all our customers is that we will not sell any product that we will not consume ourselves. We are passionate about food and we take pride in our customer service and the behaviour and training of our staff.

"Part of the agreement is that the standards that we have in the UK will be maintained here. So we spend lots of time and effort to make our stores clean and tidy and create beautiful displays every single day.

"We try to make the shopping experience, the best. There is a cost to that but this is what we do."

The company is also known to regularly conduct laboratory tests on all ready-to-eat items sold in the store and check for acceptable levels of bacteria.

The retailer set up its first outlet in Bahrain and third store outside the UK just days before unrest broke out in the kingdom. However, they have continued to have faith in the kingdom and are in the process of finalising a deal for opening a third store by the end of the year.
 
Mr Holtzhausen added that the company is also exploring various options of taking over an existing retail business and expanding the Waitrose chain throughout the kingdom.

He said: "Our experience with authorities in Bahrain is very good. It is more business friendly than many other countries. It is quiet easy to do business here. We were very encouraged and surprised.
 
"I would like to increase the footprint of our stores in Bahrain because then I will have a critical mass. After this we are going to a different location in Saar. If we finalise the deal we will have our third store in Bahrain by the end of the year."
 
The produce stocked in the store is sourced from local suppliers as well as globally. To back up this policy, it appears that salads from the region alongside ready-to-cook stir-fry vegetables from Kenya have been the fastest moving items in the first few days.

From Holland comes a range of tomatoes and mushrooms and from Thailand come exotic fruits including Rambutan, passion fruit, mangosteen, guava and dragon fruit. A whole range of berries from the US were also on offer. One of the star bargains was a packet of strawberries on promotion for 425fils.

Store manager Amalia Garcia said: "We put a lot of emphasis on fresh food. Sausages are coming from the processing unit in Dubai. We are very strict on our expiry policy. We record and check items every day. We also stock Scottish and Norwegian salmon."

The store’s bakery is well known for its artisan breads and a range of different loaves baked daily at its Amwaj kitchens with a one-day shelf life.

Other popular items include Onken yogurt from the UK, flavoured olive oils from Italy which include lemon and walnut infusions.

One of the prime customer targets will be the parents of the thousand-plus pupils attending neighbouring St Christopher’s infant and junior schools, as well as the 170 members of staff.

Early opening day shoppers included Audrey Moore and Nelly Butler who work in the school’s finance department. Audrey said: "The quality and presentation is very good. It is clean and bright Ö and next door!"

Parent Louise Tawfik, from Seef, added: "I like the variety and the freshness of the produce and they have some products that are not available in other stores. I do find the store a little expensive so I only picked out selected items like the breads and the meats."

Fellow parents Mohamed and Rouba Jheir, who live in Riffa Views, added: "The ambience reminds us of London. It is going to save time shopping because it is right on the road. We can just shop and go! They should open one in Riffa Views soon."

Store manager Naga Nathan, who won promotion after taking on the role of fresh foods manager at the Amwaj outlet, asked customers to look out for regular weekend promotions for fresh foods that start every Thursday.

Securing Waitrose’s signature as the ‘anchor tenant’ has been regarded as a major coup for the 3,375sq/m Nakheel Centre project. With scores of families doing their daily rounds back and forth from school, the complex now provides an ideal location to pick up groceries as well as a meeting place in one of the cafes for parents.

The owner of the complex is AMAK Property & Development. It has appointed Dara Innovation Real Estate Company to lease and manage it.

The centre is a mixed-use commercial development in the heart of the growing Saar area which the developers say has been designed to ‘reflect the old Bahraini architectural feel with a moderate modern touch’. The three-storey development will eventually boast 25 retail outlets and half a dozen offices.

The Nakheel Centre is rated as a ‘neighbourhood development’ and will mostly cater for the residents of Saar, Budaiya, Saraya and surrounding areas.

But the owners also believe its closeness to a highway exit will attract Saudi residents to visit before continuing their journey on to the Causeway.

The kingdom’s first Waitrose store has faced stiff competition from an Alosra supermarket, part of the well-established BMMI group, which opened shortly afterwards in a prime location at the entrance to the man-made island community, and as a result attracts passing trade from commuters.

Waitrose, however, remains bullish about its fortunes and says it continues to attract shoppers from Amwaj and across Bahrain to the Lagoon, a growing ‘eating out’ destination and is confident its latest store will be a huge success.
 
Ironically, the new store in Saar is competing for customers who currently shop at Alosra in the nearby Najibi Centre.