Andrew Mitchell MP has visited one of the latest editions to Sutton’s town centre – Waitrose – at 83 The Parade to meet with staff and see how business has been doing since their opening in April.
Sutton’s MP was greeted at the shop by Store Manager, Paul Owen and Head of Retail Operations, Malcolm Way. Mr Mitchell discussed the amount of employees Waitrose has taken on, hearing how they had 1,000 applications for 33 jobs when the store opened.
Andrew Mitchell also discussed the store’s Community Matters initiative which ensures that £500 is divided between three local good causes each month. Customers are given tokens at the checkout which they then place in the box of the good cause they would most like to support. The more tokens a cause gets, the bigger the donation they receive. Customers can also nominate good causes to be considered for the scheme in the future.
Since Waitrose’s Community Matters initiative was launched in 2008, they have donated over £3 million to a wide range of charities and community groups across the UK.
Andrew Mitchell MP said, “Waitrose is a very welcome addition to our town centre, both for the benefit of Sutton’s shoppers and for the employment opportunities it has offered.
“It is always good to see large corporations undertake charitable work in the local community and Waitrose are to be lauded for their Community Matters scheme.”