Whole Foods Also Set to Open in Spring
Organic supermarket begins to advertise jobs on Broadway
Organic supermarket chain Whole Foods Market has confirmed it will move into Fulham Broadway in spring 2013.
Earlier this year, we reported that landmark restaurant The Blue Elephant, had moved from its famous site at 2 - 6 Fulham Broadway to Imperial Wharf - leaving the site free for organic foods Whole Foods Market to move in.
The proposed swap was first announced in May 2011 when the supermarket confirmed a new 23,000 square foot store was planned to launch in Autumn 2013, creating 150 full and part time local jobs.
Now the chain has speeded up its plans, announcing on its recruitment website that the store is opening in spring 2013, alongside a second new opening in Richmond.
Meanwhile work on redeveloping the site has been continuing for several months.
Whole Foods says it will be seeking experienced leaders who are passionate about food and the retail industry to join the company, and is inviting people to register their details now, saying they will be contacted when recruitment begins early next year.
At the time of the original announcement, Jeff Turnas, Whole Foods Market’s UK Regional President said: " We are excited to be able to further expand our grocery offering to shoppers in West London.
" The Fulham Broadway store will be a fantastic addition to our portfolio of stores in the UK and it will allow us to show off the best in British foods such as our unique animal welfare rated meats and sustainably ranked seafood, while focusing on reviving traditional skills such as butchery and fishmongery in store.
" As with our existing London stores, our goal is to be the finest food shop in every community we serve. For example, we will be baking and cooking on site each day and we will be offering an amazing array of fresh, healthy and organic food, highlighting local products from our UK producers.
"We want our customers to celebrate the joys of eating and living well and we hope to help prompt conscious food choices.”
The impending arrival of Whole Foods means that Fulham Broadway will have four major foodstores within yards of each other as it joins Sainsbury's, Waitrose and M&S Simply Foods.
However, not all upmarket supermarkets have been successful. Union Market, which opened in 2011 on the site of Fulham Broadway's old underground station, was forced to close earlier this year and Planet Organic also closed after failing to attract shoppers.
November 9, 2012
