John Lewis At Home to open in Newbury

John Lewis has confirmed that it will be opening a new store in Newbury in 2012. The store will be located in Parkway which is part of the Standard Life Investments' new development in the centre of the town.

The retailer says it has committed to investing £8 million in Newbury which will boost local employment by creating around 160 new jobs. The new store will followthe John Lewis at home concept and will focus on selling furniture, furnishing accessories, electrical and home technology. It will trade from two levels totalling 40,000 sq ft.

The John Lewis at home concept successfully launched in Poole in October 2009. Three further shops opened in 2010 in Croydon, Swindon and Tunbridge Wells.

Tim Harrison, head of format development, John Lewis, said, “The success of existing John Lewis at home shops has demonstrated that a smaller format works and has given us the confidence to continue to extend our reach. The Parkway development in Newbury is a good fit for us in terms of location and catchment and is a great opportunity to bring our ‘at home’ format to Berkshire, providing customers with a broader and more convenient shopping offer.”

James Stevens, Head of UK Development at Standard Life Investments, said: “We are delighted to welcome John Lewis at home to Parkway. He added, “This is a great vote of confidence for Parkway and Newbury and we look forward to welcoming even more top quality shops to the scheme in the coming months.”

Source : The Retail Bulletin