Birmingham Waitrose store to close after 50 years as shoppers say 'another nail in the coffin'

Bosses at the Stratford Road supermarket called the decision a 'last resort'

A long-standing Waitrose supermarket in Birmingham will close down after serving shoppers in Hall Green for more than half a century. Bosses called the decision a 'last resort' after efforts to boost falling profits at the branch.

The store in Stratford Road first opened in 1971 and has served generations of local residents, who have expressed concern over the announcement. Redundancy consultations have now been initiated with the store's 123 members of staff, who are also referred to as 'partners' as Waitrose employees own shares in the business.

Hall Green North Councillor Saima Suleman shared the news on Facebook on Thursday night, saying she was 'saddened' to learn of the closure plans, adding that the store had 'found trading challenging over the last few years'. The post was met with dozens of comments from locals, with one calling the loss of Waitrose 'another nail in the firmly closed coffin for Hall Green'.

Read more: I went to Costco and can't understand why everyone was buying the same thing

Someone else wrote: "Hall Green isn’t what it was I think it needs to be more suitably placed." And another resident said: "This has made me want to move now."

Waitrose confirmed the store will close in January next year. James Allen, head of retail operations at the supermarket, said: "Our priority now is doing everything we can to support our Partners at Waitrose Hall Green and we will explore opportunities, wherever possible, for those partners who may wish to remain with the Partnership. Closing any of our shops is always a last resort and is in no way a reflection on their hard work and dedication.”

A spokesperson for Waitrose added: "Regrettably, we've announced our intent to close Waitrose Hall Green in Birmingham at the end of trade on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. Despite the best efforts of our partners, we’ve unfortunately not been able to find a way to make the shop commercially sustainable.

"The 123 partners who work in the shop will now enter a period of consultation. If the redundancy proposals go ahead, every effort will be made to find those who wish to remain within the partnership new roles.

"Customers will continue to be able to get all their groceries on waitrose.com, our nearby Waitrose Solihull shop, under three miles away, and other on demand locations in the event the closure is confirmed. The John Lewis partnership is committed to providing support to those partners who are at risk of redundancy.

"We'll be exploring opportunities for partners within the partnership first, and our retraining fund will contribute up to £3,000 towards a recognised qualification or course for up to two years for any partner with two years' service or more who is made redundant. They would also be given access to a three month support programme with an outplacement specialist to help with CV writing and interview skills."

In addition to statutory redundancy payments, partners who have worked with the business for more than 90 days would be entitled to Partnership redundancy pay, which equates to one week's pay for every year of service."