By James Hall, Retail Editor Published: 7:39PM BST 24 Sep 2009  At your convenience: Waitrose plans to go head-to-ahead against M&S to capture some of the convenience food market  The retailer has also announced a tie-up with Boots, which will allowthe pharmacy chain's shoppers to buy Waitrose food alongside their toiletries.  Waitrose said on Thursday that it is in discussions with Boots about selling products in each others' shops. Waitrose declined to comment on the size of the food range that will go into Boots' stores, however it is thought that it will consist of more than just sandwiches, snacks and drinks. Analysts believe that it could consist of a small range of ready meals and ambient products.  The move was just one of a raft of initiatives announced by Waitrose.  As well as the Boots tie-up, Waitrose will trial a new, smaller stand-alone convenience store format in the new year. The supermarket currently has just two convenience stores, which are between 5,000 sq ft and 7,000 sq ft in size.  The new format will be between 2,000 sq ft and 4,000 sq ft. The company said that the move gives it the potential for 300 convenience stores.  Mark Price, Waitrose's managing director, said that the 300 stores will open over the next "five to 10 years".  The supermarket will also expand an existing franchise partnership with Welcome Break, the motorway service station operator.  The move will see Waitrose increase the number of stores it has in service stations from two to 11.  "By opening these new channels and formats, we'll be making Waitrose accessible to more customers in more places and we'll be able to create thousands of new jobs," said Mr Price.  "With continued strong performance from our existing stores and this move into the convenience market, we are planning for double-digit growth for the foreseeable future," he added.  Waitrose already has a small number of Boots-owned pharmacies in its stores.
Waitrose, the John Lewis-owned supermarket, has announced plans to open up to    300 small convenience stores, in a massive push that will see it go    head-to-head with Marks &amp; Spencer's Simply Food chain.