John Lewis adds fashion, beauty to Horsham concept store

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Mar 14, 2023

Move over homewares. It’s not just fashion, beauty, tech and personal styling and design that have now been added to the former John Lewis At Home store in Horsham, West Sussex. It’s become a concept store thanks to a multi-million-pound conversion that will allow the John Lewis Partnership to test-market new ideas to use in other stores.

Over the next year, the retailer will test a “multi-sensory experience” across the two-storey store, hiring neuroscience experts to look at the store’s design and prescribed fragrance, colours and sounds to specific areas to “enrich customer mood and experience”.

Importantly too, the concept is set to roll out across its Oxford Street, Milton Keynes and Liverpool stores in the spring.

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The 47,000 sq ft store now also features fashion brands including Barbour, Levi’s, Whistles and Baukjen.

The new beauty department features cosmetics and fragrance from Dior, Jo Malone and Bobbi Brown, Clarins and Elemis, the latter two launching an express skincare service, with 15-minute treatments including massages and facials. The store is also offering customers personal styling.
 
There’s also a new children’s area, including a ‘wonder trail’ concept with an interactive treasure hunt, to sit alongside children’s  fashion brands including Polarn O Pyret and Pure Baby and the John Lewis own brand childrenswear collections. This too will be rolled out to its Oxford Street, Milton Keynes and Liverpool stores in the spring.

The concept is part of chair Sharon White’s five-year turnaround plan that aims to achieve annual profits of £400 million by 2025. The Partnership is set to report latest annual results on Thursday.