Costa, the high street coffee shop chain, has partnered with department store Debenhams to trial six concessions across its UK estate.

The first shop will open on Wednesday (25 June) within the Guildford store in Surrey followed by Slough later this month and openings in Derby, Exeter, Haverfordwest and Woking in July. The partnership, born of customer research, will complement the brand’s in-store restaurant and café and will offer food and drink.

Debenham’s hopes to achieve higher customer numbers, more revenue and increased dwell time through the partnership. It will continue to invest in its in-house restaurant and café business, as demonstrated by the £25m refurbishment of its flagship Oxford Street store in London. It now features four complementary and contrasting food services to appeal to its spectrum of customers.

"Mutually beneficial partnership"

James Hamilton, UK head of acquisitions at Costa, said: “It is important for us to partner with other leading British retailers in order to deliver the best experience for coffee-lovers. We see this as a mutually beneficial partnership, bringing together the nation’s favourite coffee shop brand with one of the UK’s leading department stores, allowing both brands to strengthen customer experience and further drive sales.”

John Baker, director of food services at Debenhams, said: “Costa is the perfect partner for us to complement our successful in-house restaurant and café proposition. Growing our food hospitality business is an important part of our strategy to improve the return on our UK stores through a wider choice of products and brands. Partnering with Costa will only enhance our appeal.

“Nearly all Debenhams stores are equipped with a restaurant, a café, or both. Working with third parties offers a fantastic opportunity to create an additional offering and the strength of Costa’s brand, coffee heritage and customer appeal is a good strategic fit for us.”