Waitrose started by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor in 1904 in Acton, is now owned by the John Lewis Partnership. Like all other John Lewis stores, Waitrose targets the middle class market. Marks & Spencer remains to be the main competitor of Waitrose. It has a 3.9 percent market share nationwide while 7 per cent in South of England and 16 percent of the organic food market. The shares in the corporation are held, on behalf of the employees, in trust due to its corporate structure. It can be said that the company is owned by the employees because they actually receive distribution of the annual profit. The profit distribution usually is around 10-15 percent of the employee's annual salaries. To deliver groceries to the Queen Mother, the company had a special charter. It also has a Royal Warrant to supply wine, spirits and groceries to the Queen.
