Following its deal with Xercise4Less, Tesco branches out into yoga

One of Tesco’s largest stores has unveiled a new shopping and leisure destination in Watford following a major renovation of its 80,000 sq ft (7,430sq m) Extra store.

The transformation project at Watford Extra features a community space that customers can use free of charge for events such as yoga, baby gym and cookery classes.

The store houses a nail bar in a revamped Health & Beauty department, offering beauty treatments from £5.

Convenient services include a Pharmacy, Opticians, health shop Nutri-Centre, Click & Collect.

The revamped Tesco store is now built around a ‘Food First’ philosophy; with a new fresh fruit and veg section.

The store will also mark the first time that new food concepts including Giraffe, Harris + Hoole, Euphorium and The Bakery Project have come together under one roof. It 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.

Chris Bush, UK managing director, said: “More and more of our customers are shopping for leisure. Watford represents a fundamental change in the way that people are doing their shopping.

“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.”

At the beginning of July Tesco secured a deal with Independent budget gym chain Xercise4Less to open a fitness club at the Tesco Extra store in Stockton-on-Tees, with plans to roll out more gyms.