John Lewis is putting “the buzz” back into its stores as it unveiled its newly upgraded Oxford Street flagship last week following a £6.5m investment.
The department store is using its home on London’s busiest shopping street to test and trial new concepts as it prepares to roll out upgrades across the rest of its estate in the next couple of years.
“The buzz is back in John Lewis and we’re giving our customers even more reasons to shop in our brilliant stores,” says executive director Peter Ruis.
He admits the business has not been “spending enough” on its stores in recent years, but that’s all set to change and its shops are “here to stay”.
Oxford Street is one of the first to receive the makeover treatment as part of an £800m commitment and “there’s something happening on every single floor”, Ruis notes.
The John Lewis veteran, who returned to lead the department store’s revival earlier this year, is not exaggerating as shoppers will be quick to notice the obvious changes in the revamped beauty hall, the launch of a Waterstones on the second floor, an incoming cookery school in partnership with Jamie Oliver on the third, and a plethora of new brands across fashion, home and electricals.
Bigger and better in beauty
John Lewis’ beauty department has seen the biggest investment in store, with the hall now 20,000sq ft bigger and housing 41 new counters and shop-in-shop concepts.
“We have been really working hard to reinvent this beauty hall for the modern age,” says John Lewis head of beauty Helen Spencer.
“We’ve managed to do it without stopping trading at all, which has been phenomenal as it was really important for us to make sure that customers every single day gets a brilliant experience despite all the work that we’ve been doing.”
The department is now home to 175 beauty brands, including new counter concepts from the likes of Clarins, Dior, Clinique and Charlotte Tilbury, as well as the launch of new “trending” brands such as The Inkey List, Sol De Janeiro, The Ordinary and Skin+Me’s first physical counter.
Many of the large beauty brands including Clinique, La Mer and Dermalogica now have private treatment rooms for customers to have consultations away from prying eyes on the shop floor.
The Oxford Street flagship now houses a new fragrance hall located in the former accessories department, which has been moved upstairs, with dedicated counters for luxury brands such as Loewe and Baccarat Rouge 540 maker Maison Francis Kurkdjian.
The addition means that every Oxford Street facing entrance of the store opens into John Lewis’ beauty offer – a deliberate move to better cater to customers.
It’s also a smart move as the departure of neighbours Debenhams and House of Fraser from the famous shopping street gives John Lewis an opportunity to clean up in beauty.
However, the concept will be taken further afield. In fact, Spencer shares that there’s been “another 185 interventions into other shops across the country” including Newcastle and London’s Westfield Stratford City.
Oxford Street, however, will act as a “blueprint” for upgrades in the next couple of shops, although Spencer says the team is already working on what the next iteration be.
“We’re constantly iterating design, and you’ll see a few more new additions will come into the shop in January that we’ve already got lined up to keep the proposition as fresh as possible.”
Boosting its fashion credentials
John Lewis has been working hard to improve its fashion credentials in the last 12 months as rival M&S reaps the benefits of its style transformation.
“It’s been a bit Blur v Oasis in terms of M&S and us…we’re having fun with each other,” Ruis jokes.
The department store launched its collaboration with label A.W.A.K.E. Mode last week, a move that saw John Lewis release riskier silhouettes to its usual clean cuts and enter a more premium own-brand price point of up to £399.
Head of fashion Rachel Morgans, the former Asos and Topshop exec who joined the business earlier this year, says the 46-piece collection “brings a different energy to John Lewis and the ranges that we’re doing and but still with that elevation”.
Morgans shares the retailer “doubled our planned sales” in the first week of its launch.
She says it is keen to “support the British talent [and] also work with some of brands on collaborations that’s exclusively for us”.
Morgans says John Lewis has a limited edition range planned for next year, which will be “priced slightly higher than where we are”.
While it will still keep its more affordable price points, Morgans explains: “I don’t think we should be afraid to be who we are and our customers, sounds crass to say, but she is quite affluent.”
It forms part of John Lewis’ plans to double its fashion business. A strategy which has seen around 100 fashion brands added to its assortment in the last 12 months, including 35 just for Autumn Winter.
Accessories is another category for growth in the business, with the department on the first floor stocking as many as 40 brands with prices ranging from £5 to £5,000.
There’s also a piercing and welding studio thanks to a new tie-up with luxury jeweller Tish Lyon.
The bag department on the ground floor, which includes the likes of Coach, Longchamp and Strathberry, has been joined by a Sign of The Times concession selling pre-loved designer bags and purses – a partnership first introduced at the retailer’s Peter Jones store.
Home and electricals
The retailer’s home department, which is spread across two floors, has been given a new lease of life with the addition of brands such as Next-owned Made.com, Ruggable, and West Elm.
John Lewis director of home Jason Wilary-Attew says the space has been “completely reimagined” with everyday essentials on the bottom and “leadership lifestyle” for those bigger purchases on the upper floor.
“It’s very much about the way we’re splitting the looks within home, so classic on the left, modern on the right, and then what we begin to do as we progress through the next few months and year is to break those down even more so we’re going to start being far more customer focused when we talk about things like the Scandi look, or an English country, or a French country, or mid-century modern etc.”
The existing brands and room sets have been elevated on the floor, while fitted kitchens makes a return to the shop after John Lewis was forced to pull the products following the demise of its key supplier Mereway earlier this year.
Retail director James Breckenridge says the retailer is also “exploring plans” to relaunch a flooring offer, following the collapse of its partner The Floor Room in August.
One of the biggest changes to the store is the launch of Waterstones located next to a downsized bedding department, which Ruis says has been “a huge success [and] really amazing for us”.
Meanwhile, the retailer’s electronics department on the top floor has received a complete revamp with the dated displays replaced with new tables that are easier to navigate around, digital screens providing retail media opportunities, and a brand new gaming zone.
It’s large appliances on the lower ground floor have also been expanded and revamped to include new product spotlight areas in partnerships with brands.
One down, 33 stores to go
The Oxford Street upgrades will be a pleasing sight to many shoppers as the retailer revamps its assortment and plugs new services and concessions into previously dead space on the shop floor.
The £6.5m cash injection into the flagship forms part of John Lewis’ wider £26m investment into its store estate, which included the roll out of headsets to all partners across.
“We’ve spent £26m on updating our stores this year,” says Ruis. “We’re going to spend £36m next year, and the next four years in total, we’re investing £800m across everything that we do.”
The enthusiasm marks a step change for the partnership owned retailer, which turned a profit last year after struggling with steep losses in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Redline Retail consultant Andrew Busby says: “Its still a work in progress…but the encouraging thing is that they are on the right track.”
Busby notes that “there’s clearly momentum building around the brand”, with the business taking more “risks” with its product ranges, as well as an increased focus on getting customers immersed and engaged in the stores.
Ruis says the business is committed to upgrading “about five” of its stores in 2025, but adds, “I suspect we’ll end up going into about 12”.
One thing for certain is that John Lewis has its mojo back and is finally putting some much-needed love back into its stores.
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