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John Lewis (department store)
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John Lewis is a chain of upmarket department stores operating throughout Great Britain and popular amongst the British middle class for its high quality goods. The chain is owned by the John Lewis Partnership. All permanent employees are partners in the business. There are currently 27 stores throughout England and Scotland and a further 8 stores are confirmed to open in the next 5 years. The brand is known for its slogan "Never Knowingly Undersold" which has been in use for 76 years. John Lewis is positioned in the retail market above Marks and Spencer and Debenhams and at a lower level to Selfridges. In 2007 John Lewis was voted 'Britains Favourite Department Store'.
On 1st January 2008, John Lewis Oxford Street was awarded a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty the Queen as suppliers of haberdashery and household goods. The John Lewis shop in Reading, Berkshire also has a Royal Warrant from the Queen as suppliers of household and fancy goods, received on 1st January 2007.
Several John Lewis stores are iconic architectural buildings, often with listed building status. These include the flagship store on Oxford Street, London, with its Barbara Hepworth statue Winged Figure, on the corner with Holles Street, and the Peter Jones department store at the corner of Sloane Square and Kings Road, Chelsea, London.
History
The flagship store on Oxford Street began as a drapery shop, opened by John Lewis in 1864. In 1905 Lewis acquired a second store, Peter Jones in Sloane Square, London. His son, John Spedan Lewis, founded the John Lewis Partnership in 1920 after thinking up the idea during his days in charge of Peter Jones. John Spedan Lewis also thought up the idea of the Gazette, the partnership's in-house magazine, first published in 1918.
In 1940 the partnership bought Selfridge Provincial Stores. This group of fifteen suburban and provincial department stores included Cole Brothers, Sheffield, and George Henry Lee, Liverpool, which continue to trade today- now re-branded John Lewis. In 1953 the partnership bought Herbert Parkinson, a textile manufacturer. Herbert Parkinson still makes all the duvets, pillows and furnishings for John Lewis.
The department stores today
Interior of John Lewis, Oxford Street, London
The original Oxford Street store is still the flagship and largest branch in the partnership. The store has recently undergone a major £60 million refurbishment which has made the store one unified space, with the creation of two glass-roofed atriums, a brand new 'Place To Eat' restaurant and, for the first time, the inclusion of a bar and bistro in the store. A 'John Lewis Food Hall from Waitrose' is now located in the basement. The inclusion of a food hall at John Lewis Oxford Street is not a completely new concept for John Lewis, with two former stores having had a foodhall. Once complete, John Lewis Cardiff will become the second branch to include the Food Hall concept, although John Lewis Bluewater does have a basement which was planned to have a Waitrose food hall, the contract signed between John Lewis and Bluewater prevented them from opening the hall and so the space is currently used for storage. Since 1990 John Lewis department store and Waitrose supermarket have traded under the same roof in Kingston upon Thames.
In Southampton John Lewis and Waitrose also traded under the same roof, although the Waitrose store was closed down in 2004. These, however, remain separate shops in the same development.
Substantial investment in stores across the group over recent years has included the refurbishment of branches at Brent Cross and Edinburgh and the complete renovation of Peter Jones, at a cost of £107 million, completed in 2004. Other recent innovations include improved payment areas on the shop floor.
All the stores that were taken over by the partnership have now been renamed John Lewis, with the exception of Peter Jones and Knight & Lee in Southsea.
The stores were well known for always being closed on a Monday so that originally staff, known as Partners, got a two day weekend. Since the relaxation of the Sunday trading laws, the shops opened on a Sunday but still remained closed on a Monday. It is only in the last 8 years that all the shops have been open on a Monday as well.
The John Lewis Partnership were the first department store group in the UK to adopt central buying, launching the 'Jonell(e)' name for own brand merchandise, in 1937. The well respected brand name has gradually been replaced with the 'John Lewis' name on own brand goods since 2001. Additional own brands include 'JFW', 'Guise' and 'JL' for clothing. A selection of Waitrose own brand products, such as cleaning materials and party stationery, are also available from John Lewis. Famous brands such as Crew Clothing, Polo Golf, Mulberry, Fat Face, Sony and Apple Computers are stocked by the group.
Most of the department stores feature a 'Place To Eat' self-service restaurant, offering a range of counters. Some of the newer stores such as Solihull and Southampton also have a John Lewis Cafe, aiming to bring in customers who might normally visit one of the many in mall coffee shops that now exist in the UK. 'The Brasserie' has recently brought table service back to the shops with a more sophisticated menu and decor.
The High Wycombe store is the only branch not to have clothing departments (apart from sports clothing), hence the shop's name 'John Lewis Home & Leisure'. John Lewis products are also in 'Waitrose Food & Home' stores. In 2007 a 'John Lewis Home Outlet' opened at McArthurGlen's Swindon Designer Outlet centre, the first 'outlet store' of the company.
In 2008 the company's name hit the political media when in the course of controversy over the declaration of expenses by UK Members of Parliament it was revealed that the Parliamentary authorities used information from John Lewis - the 'John Lewis list' - as a guide to the maximum costs refundable to MPs when equipping London pieds à terre at public expense.
Branches and future openings
London
South East England
- Crawley, John Lewis Crawley (opening in 2013)
- Greenhithe, Bluewater, John Lewis Bluewater (opened 1999)
- High Wycombe, John Lewis Home & Leisure High Wycombe (opened 1988)
- Milton Keynes, John Lewis Milton Keynes (opened 1979)
- Portsmouth, John Lewis Portsmouth (230,000 sq ft; opening in 2011)
- Reading, John Lewis Reading (acquired 1953; formerly Heelas)
- Southampton, John Lewis Southampton (acquired 1934; relocated 2000; formerly Tyrrell & Green)
- Southsea, Knight & Lee (acquired 1934; closing in 2011 to coincide with the opening of John Lewis Portsmouth)
- Watford, John Lewis Watford (acquired 1940; relocated 1990; formerly Trewins / Trewin Brothers)
- Welwyn Garden City, John Lewis Welwyn (acquired 1983; formerly Welwyn Stores)
South West England
- Bristol, John Lewis Cribbs Causeway (opened 1998)
- Swindon, John Lewis Home Outlet (opened 2007)
Central England
- Cambridge, John Lewis Cambridge (280,000 sq ft; acquired 1940; relocated 2007; formerly Robert Sayle)
- Leicester, John Lewis Leicester (220,000 sq ft; opened 4 September 2008) Stephen Bayley, architecture and design correspondent of The Observer comments on the store: The Renaissance reaches Leicester [1].
- Norwich, John Lewis Norwich (acquired 1982; formerly Bonds)
- Nottingham, John Lewis Nottingham (acquired 1933; relocated 1972; formerly Jessops / Jessop & Son)
- Oxford, John Lewis Oxford (230,000 sq ft; opening in 2011)
- Peterborough, John Lewis Peterborough (120,000 sq ft; opened 1982)
- Solihull, John Lewis Solihull (265,000 sq ft; opened 2001)
Yorkshire
- Leeds, John Lewis Leeds (260,000 sq ft; opening in 2012)
- Sheffield, John Lewis Sheffield (135,000 sq ft; acquired 1940; relocated 1963; relocating to a new development in 2011; formerly Cole Brothers)
North East England
North West England
- Cheadle, John Lewis Cheadle (260,000 sq ft; opened 1995)
- Liverpool, John Lewis Liverpool (280,000 sq ft; acquired 1940; relocated 2008; formerly George Henry Lee)
- Manchester, Trafford Centre, John Lewis Trafford (200,000 sq ft; opened 2005)
- Preston, John Lewis Preston (230,000 sq ft; opening in 2013)
Scotland
- Aberdeen, John Lewis Aberdeen (opened 1989)
- Edinburgh, John Lewis Edinburgh (opened 1973)
- Glasgow, John Lewis Glasgow (opened 1999)
Wales
- Cardiff, John Lewis Cardiff (240,000 sq ft; opening in 2009)
Northern Ireland
- Sprucefield, John Lewis Sprucefield (Subject to planning which has been delayed due to opposition to the scheme. This is currently in process of being scaled down although a John Lewis is planned to be part of it.)
Former locations
- Bristol, John Lewis Bristol (acquired 1981; closed 1998 to coincide with the opening of John Lewis Cribbs Causeway)
- Brixton, Bon Marche (acquired 1940; closed 1975)
- Brixton, Quin & Axten (acquired 1940; closed 1948)
- Edinburgh, The Silk Shop (fabrics and haberdashery; acquired 1943; closed 1973 to coincide with the opening of John Lewis Edinburgh)
- Finchley Road, London, John Barnes (acquired 1940; closed 1981; part of building converted into a Waitrose supermarket, known as Waitrose John Barnes - following the relocation of Habitat, to the nearby O2 Centre, the entire ground floor is now occupied by Waitrose)
- Gloucester, Blinkhorn & Son (acquired 1940; sold 1953)
- Harrogate, Buckleys (acquired 1940; sold 1953)
- Holloway, Jones Brothers (acquired 1940; closed 1990; part of site now occupied by a Waitrose supermarket, known as Waitrose Holloway Road)
- Hull, The Silk Shop Hull (acquired 1943; closed 1956)
- Newcastle upon Tyne, The Silk Shop Newcastle upon Tyne (acquired 1943; closed 1976 to coincide with the relocation of Bainbridge)
- Peckham, Holdrons (acquired 1940; sold 1948)
- Peterborough, Robert Sayle Peterborough / Thomsons (acquired 1940; closed 1956)
- Reading, A H Bull (acquired 1940; sold 1953 to coincide with the acquisition of Heelas)
- Streatham, Pratts (acquired 1940; closed 1990)
- Weston-super-Mare, Lance & Lance (acquired 1933; closed 1948)
- Windsor, Caleys (acquired 1940; closed 2006)
Abandoned plans for new stores
In 1996 there were plans to construct a John Lewis department store with adjoining Waitrose supermarket on part of the Bodington Hall campus site of the University of Leeds in Lawnswood, Leeds. It was abandoned owing to widespread opposition due to the possibility of increased traffic congestion and the risk to existing shopping locations.[1]
Expansion
John Lewis has a major project of expansion underway with a number of new department stores planned to open by 2014.
In June 2004, John Lewis announced plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland at the Sprucefield Park development, the province's largest out of town shopping centre, located outside Lisburn and ten miles (16 km) from Belfast. The application was approved in June 2005 and the opening of the new store scheduled for 2008. This decision was disputed, however, and taken to the High Court where it was reversed. John Lewis is still hopeful of opening a new store at Sprucefield at the earliest opportunity.
Cardiff (240,000 sq ft) will open in 2009 as part of the St David's Centre — Phase 2 development. It will be one of the largest John Lewis department stores in the UK and the Partnership's first department store in Wales[2].
Oxford (230,000 sq ft) will open in 2011 as part of the redevelopment of the Westgate Centre.
Stratford (240,000 sq ft) will open in 2011 together with a new Waitrose supermarket. The new shops will anchor the Stratford City retail project being developed by Westfield alongside the Olympic Park in East London.
Leeds (260,000 sq ft) will open in 2012 as an anchor store of the planned Eastgate Quarters development.
The opening of new department stores, at the Tithebarn development in Preston and the redeveloped town centre in Crawley, is planned for 2013.
John Lewis has declared an interest in establishing a department store in Croydon. Confirmation that a store will open in the town is yet to be announced.
John Lewis will also relocate the Portsmouth (2011) and Sheffield (2011)[3] stores to new, larger premises, as has already been the case with recent locations in Cambridge and Liverpool.
References and external links
John lewis in Milton keynes
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