Yahoo Finance Booths teams up with Amazon to sell down South for the first time
Booths, the so-called "Waitrose of the North", has inked a deal with Amazon Fresh that will see the upmarket grocer's product become available for southern shoppers for the first time.
The 170-year-old family-owned business has until now shirked expanding across the country. Earlier this year it decided to take its first steps out of the North West with a joint venture in Malaysia rather than attempt to crack the South.
Booth's agreement with Amazon Fresh will mean that its range of ready meals, cheese and deli products will be available in the 302 postcodes across London, Surrey, Hampshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire that the online grocer now serves.
Until now Booths has only catered to southern shoppers with its Christmas hamper deliveries, which are available for four days of the festive season.
“Booths has always been a Northern secret, but now our range of exceptional products will be available every day to a wide range of shoppers,” said Edwin Booth, chairman and chief executive of Booths. “This is good news for everyone. It’s a win for Booths, as we have wider reach for our products and it’s a win for the customer who can now have a taste of Booths country delivered to their doorstep.”
Amazon Fresh launched last June in the UK offering same-day grocery deliveries for Prime members to an initial 69 postcodes across central and east London. Since then it has expanded across the south east and now counts 180,000 items after striking a wholesale deal with Bradford grocer Morrisons and acquiring Whole Foods earlier this year.
"Our customers tell us they look for choice, value and convenience from AmazonFresh," said Ajay Kavan, vice president of AmazonFresh International. "That’s why we’ve added Booths to our great selection of products from Morrisons and Whole Foods Market as well as local shops and big name brands, brought together with same day delivery and the everyday low prices that Amazon is known for.”
Earlier this year Mr Booth told The Sunday Telegraph that he was watching Morrison's recent wholesale deal with Amazon Fresh with keen interest. At the time he said "we would happily co-operate with other people of that nature".
In July Booths' lenders instructed Grant Thornton to undertake a review of the company's financial position amid speculation that its family shareholders could have to put more money into the business. A Booths spokesman declined to comment other than to say that the Amazon deal was a "positive sign things were moving in the right direction".
