Alun Jones

Head of Retail Physical Estate | Retail Estate Strategy | Store Development | £1bn Investment Programme

Caterham, England, United Kingdom

About

Retail strategy and physical estate leader with extensive experience shaping the future of large-scale retail environments for major UK brands. Currently responsible for defining and delivering the multi-year physical estate strategy for Waitrose, overseeing a ~£1bn capital investment programme spanning store refurbishments, new openings, relocations and format evolution across the national store portfolio. I specialise in translating customer insight, trading performance data and market trends into location strategy, store development and investment decisions that strengthen brand presence and drive long-term commercial value. My role sits at the intersection of Retail, Property, Finance and Customer strategy, aligning capital allocation with business performance and growth ambitions. I work closely with senior stakeholders across Property, Commercial, Finance and Ecommerce functions to deliver a coordinated approach to estate planning, store design and development, ensuring our physical retail environment continues to evolve alongside changing customer behaviours. Passionate about the role of physical retail in an omnichannel world, I focus on creating store environments that improve customer experience, optimise space productivity and enhance operational efficiency.

Experience

  • Head of retail physical estate, Waitrose at Waitrose & Partners
    Jul 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 1 mo

  • District Councillor at Tandridge District Council
    2016 - Present · 10 yrs 7 mos

  • Lead Estate Planning Manager - JLP at John Lewis Partnership
    Jan 2017 - Jul 2024 · 7 yrs 7 mos

  • Future Space and Sustainable Development Manager at Waitrose
    Feb 2014 - Jan 2017 · 3 yrs

  • Tesco PLC (7 yrs 10 mos)
    • Lead Format Planning Manager
      Jul 2013 - Feb 2014 · 8 mos

    • Customer Propositions Manager
      Sep 2012 - Jul 2013 · 11 mos

    • Format Planning Manager
      Dec 2011 - Sep 2012 · 10 mos