Tesco Unveils Brand New Shopping And Leisure Destination

Tesco will unveil a brand new shopping and leisure destination in Watford on Monday 12th August, following a huge renovation of its 80,000+ sq. ft. Extra store.

As one of Tesco's largest stores in the UK, Watford Extra showcases the very latest in retail innovation and is the first time that new food concepts including Giraffe, Harris + Hoole, Euphorium and The Bakery Project have come together under one roof. The redevelopment of the store follows Tesco's acquisition of Giraffe in March and its investment into other food businesses, as part of its strategy to develop the space in some of its larger stores.

Watford Extra features some brand new concepts that are currently being trialled by Tesco, including a new-look general merchandise area focusing on Homeware and Cook and Dine, a community space that customers can use free of charge for events such as yoga, baby gym and cookery classes, and a stylish new F&F concession with a boutique look and feel. Some of the other features at the store include:

- A revamped Tesco store built around our 'Food First' philosophy; with a new fresh fruit and veg section and fresh counters.
- Popular food concepts including Giraffe, Harris + Hoole, Euphorium Bakery and The Bakery Project.
- Nail Bar in a revamped Health & Beauty department, offering beauty treatments from £5.
- Convenient services including a Pharmacy, Opticians, health shop Nutri-Centre, Click & Collect.
- New 'Tesco Loves Baby' area.

Chris Bush, UK Managing Director, comments, "We've spoken a lot about our vision to create compelling retail destinations in our larger stores; places where customers come to spend time and meet their friends and family. Watford is the first store where many of our innovations and ideas have come together and it's great to see it all under one roof.

"Watford represents a fundamental change in the way that people are doing their shopping. More and more of our customers are shopping for leisure; they want to browse for clothes, eat a meal or grab a cup of coffee, as well as do their weekly shop. It offers us a glimpse into what stores of the future might look like and we're really excited to be sharing that with our customers."

- Ends -

For more information visit tescoplc.com/Watford

Notes to Editors:

Watford Fast Facts:
Opened in 1988
Store is over 80,000 sq ft.
Over 600 colleagues work at Watford
Open 24 hours, 6 days a week

More information on the Community space:

Size: approx. 600 sq ft. Available for all groups and organisations to hire free of charge Can be booked for regular bookings or ad hoc meetings and events Space is available to use daily morning, afternoon or evening. Free tea and coffee making facilities. To make a booking, customers should contact Jane Ross, Watford's dedicated in-store Community Champion on watfordextra@communityattesco.co.uk or tweet @TescoWatford

Some of the events already booked in for August/September include:

Parent Gym
Parent Gym is a programme of bite-size sessions that build skills and confidence in parents of 2 - 11 year olds. Run by an expert facilitator and packed with tools and tips for parents to use in their own homes. Will run a five week course every Wednesday from 10am - 12pm.

Sign Post Counselling
Signpost is a charity that offers free and confidential counselling to 11-25 year olds in Watford, Three Rivers, Hertsmere and surrounding areas. They will be holding a weekly session from 7pm-9pm.

Tiny Talk
Largest baby signing classes company in UK and Ireland. Holding classes every Monday at 11.30am. It will support low income families who are often priced out of the market for this kind of activity.

For a virtual tour of the store click here

For more information please contact:

Tesco Press Office
T: 01992 644645

We are a team of over 530,000 people in 12 markets dedicated to bringing the best value, choice and service to our millions of customers each week. Our core purpose is 'we make what matters better, together'.