Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
John Lewis’ latest ‘at home’ format store opened its doors today (Thursday November 7) for the first time.
The new multi-million pound two-storey, 40,000 sq ft shop is in Ashford, near junction 9 of the M20 in Kent. It is the retailer’s tenth ‘at home’ shop and has created 125 jobs in the local area.
Maggie Porteous, director of selling, north and new format at John Lewis said: “Our ‘at home’ format has been extremely popular with customers since we first introduced it in 2009 and we are delighted to now be opening the tenth one in Ashford. It is testament to the team to have completed the construction and fit-out so efficiently and it’s fantastic to be able to open the doors in time for Christmas.”
Glynis Gunning-Stevenson, branch manager at John Lewis at home Ashford, added: “We’re thrilled to have opened our new shop in Ashford today – it’s the culmination of 30 weeks of hard work and it’s fantastic to see how much has been achieved.
“The new shop is perfectly placed to meet shoppers’ needs in the Kent area, with a wide range of products and services on offer, including over 60 different televisions and 240 different pillows and duvets. We’re very much looking forward to getting to know our customers and becoming part of the local community.”
Customers coming through the doors at John Lewis at home Ashford will also find nearly 30 different coffee machines and more than 30 different kettles and toasters, plus over 50 different colours of plain towels and 240 different pillows and duvets.
The store focuses on housewares, furniture, furnishing accessories, electrical and home technology. In-store computer terminals for browsing the wider johnlewis.com catalogue are available, as well as the free John Lewis Click and Collect service, which allows shoppers to order products online before 7pm and collect them at the branch after 2pm the following day or opt for home delivery. There is also a customer café, and additional services include the John Lewis Gift List.
The John Lewis Partnership operates 40 John Lewis shops across the UK (30 department stores and 10 John Lewis at home), johnlewis.com, 261 Waitrose supermarkets, 39 Waitrose convenience stores and waitrose.com. The business has annual gross sales of over £9.5bn.
