John Lewis to open Cheltenham store this autumn, names Bundy manager

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 12, 2018

The UK retail environment may be an unforgiving one at the moment but that hasn’t stopped John Lewis from continuing to open new stores… so far at least. Having just unveiled its flagship in the new Westfield London extension, on Thursday it announced that its new branch in Cheltenham will open on October 18.

But while two openings in a single year is quite a lot for the chain (it only has 50 stores in total and each one is a big commitment), after Cheltenham opens, the launch programme will grind to a halt.

There are no new sites planned after that, although last month, John Lewis MD Paul Nickolds said that “if the right shop in the right location comes up we will be interested. We haven’t said no to new shops as a point of principle.”

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Back with the Cheltenham site, it will be run by long-standing John Lewis Partner Martin Bundy and will benefit from a £23 million investment in its 115,000 sq ft space. It will offer fashion, home and technology products and services.

Bundy has been a John Lewis Partner for over 18 years, starting as a shop floor assistant at the retailer’s Southsea department store and since then has held senior roles in several shops including Southampton, Bluewater, and Newbury. He most recently managed its Chichester branch. During his career he has also held various project and branch development roles in the company's head office.