Busy time at JLP as festive shops open, Boxing Day closures announced, and Xmas series revealed
John Lewis has ramped up its activity since announcing higher profits and the return of the Never Knowingly Undersold pledge, revealing its three-part Christmas series, a partnership with Waterstones, unveiling the festive shop across its stores, and giving staff a Boxing Day break.
Yesterday, 25 September, the department store favourite revealed a new Waterstones bookshop will open on 8 October at its flagship site in the UK capital offering a selection of nearly 20,000 books, including non-fiction, fiction and children’s titles.
The company said it follows rising demand for books in-store and online, which has grown in recent years, and is in line with its strategy to offer customers an “outstanding in-store experience”, which includes a wide greetings and stationery selection.
“We’re delighted to partner with Waterstones,” said Katie Papakonstantinou, director of services and hospitality for John Lewis, “whose values and customer base are highly aligned with ours. We’re dedicated to offering our customers the best shopping experience possible, and this new bookshop is another way for us to invest in the customer offer, from our products and services to our complimentary hospitality offerings.”
Part of the extensive makeover currently underway at the store, including a new beauty hall, rooftop bar and restaurant, and other investments, the move means Waterstones will have a presence in Oxford Street where it once had four bookshops, closing the last in 2016.
Waterstones chief operating officer Kate Skipper added: “We’re thrilled to be working with John Lewis on this exciting new partnership and delighted to be returning to Oxford Street this autumn. Waterstones at John Lewis Oxford Street will be an extensively-ranged bookshop sited within this iconic flagship department store, perfect for browsing and a hub for author signings, with our booksellers on hand to offer expert customer guidance.”
Earlier this month John Lewis Partnership announced it had almost halved losses in the first half of the year to 27 July, with total revenue edging up 2% to £5.2billion while pre-tax losses improved from £59million to £30m thanks to improved sales at on the Waitrose supermarket side.
JLP CEO Nish Kankiwala said: “I want to thank all our partners for their hard work during the half, and thank our customers for supporting our loved brands.
“These results confirm that our transformation plan is working and we expect profits to grow significantly for the full year, a marked improvement from where we were two years ago.”
With most of its profits historically coming in the second half of the year, the partnership said it is confident it’s on track to deliver full year profits “significantly higher” than the prior year.
Nish added: “We continue to invest heavily in quality, service and value, and customers are responding well – with more people shopping with us and customer satisfaction increasing. While we have much more to do, we’re well set up for a positive peak trading period and on target to significantly improve our performance for the full year.”
And it’s already gearing up for the busy festive shopping period, with Christmas shops opened in 35 of its 36 stores yesterday, offering everything from cards, trees and baubles to gifting and wreaths in the department store’s dedicated areas.
The online Christmas shop opened last month and JLP has reported sales of individual baubles are up 130% on last year already, while customers are already stocking up on gifting essentials, with sales of wrapping paper up 87%.
John Lewis head of Christmas Lisa Cherry said: “We know our customers come to John Lewis for all their festive inspiration, from thoughtfully-curated home decorations to specially-selected gifting options.
“This year I’m particularly excited by our first-ever pink Christmas tree, it’s a real statement maker and feels extra special when decorated with our kitsch Sugar & Spice decorations.”
Staff will be having a well-deserved break this year as all standalone John Lewis stores will not only be closed on Christmas Day but will stay shuttered for Boxing Day too, along with the majority of Waitrose sites – and they’ll be having new year’s day as holiday too.
The move comes after brands including Wilko and The Range followed CDS Superstores’ lead to give staff a two-day festive break despite Boxing Day typically serving as a lucrative day for retailers.
And the chain has revealed this year’s Christmas campaign will be a three-part series kicking off with the re-launch of its Never Knowingly Undersold mantra – which has been celebrated in the just-released advert that can be seen below.
Designed by advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi, the campaign will feature three ads, a takeover of the London Underground, and an investment in out-of-home adverts.
Following the 90-second first chapter, which premiered on 19 September with actor Samantha Morton’s voice as well as a cover of Paul Simon’s I Know What I Know by Laura Mvula, parts two and three will be based around the retailer being the nation’s gifting destination.
The other two films, each shot by different directors, also feature Samantha’s voiceover but John Lewis is sticking with its tradition of keeping the Christmas adverts under wraps until the launch.
John Lewis customer director Charlotte Lock said: “We’ve looked to our heritage to inform our refreshed value promise to customers, making it relevant for today by matching not only high street retailers but also online competitors – and we are backing it with the biggest marketing campaign in our history.
“We have drawn on our archives and are literally depicting a window on Britain, showing the changing trends and events over the past century.
