London & South East

John Lewis: Investing in the future

John Lewis High Wycombe

As ‘The Nation’s Best Retailer’, John Lewis has become synonymous with listening to and exceeding its customers’ needs.

From an extensive array of products – 350,000 lines in-store, 200,000 online – to insurance offerings and numerous exclusives, John Lewis remains at the forefront of the retail sector.

Keen to keep striving forward on the high street, The John Lewis Partnership has unveiled its recently refurbished High Wycombe store, following a £16 million refurbishment. John Lewis High Wycombe opened its doors on Friday 11th October 2013 and boasts a brand new men and women’s fashion department, alongside an extensive sportswear offering.

The store is the retailer’s largest single investment in redevelopment in 2013, creating more than 200 new jobs and was officially opened at an event attended by Sir Stuart Hampson, High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.

John Lewis High Wycombe

Before the newly refurbished store opened its doors, Managing Director of John Lewis High Wycombe, Lisa Williams, delivered a speech to her team of Partners (staff) about the role they would play in the new store. Lisa also thanked Partners for their hard work and dedication throughout the refurbishment process.

Lisa said:

“I was thrilled to be able to reveal the end results of our £16 million refurbishment. The opening of the fashion department was a long term aspiration of ours and we hope customers enjoy the new offer along with the other departments and services that the investment has brought. It has been 25 years since John Lewis High Wycombe opened and I’m confident that customers will enjoy the newly refurbished shop for another 25 years to come.”

John Lewis High Wycombe

To mark the end of the refurbishment Lisa was joined by the store’s oldest serving Partner, Colin Tushingham and one of its newest Partners, Aranzazu Barrios. Colin has been with the store since it opened 25 years ago, whilst Aranzazu is one the store’s 200 new partners.

Wates Construction Limited – part of the Wates Group – was the main contractor on the refurbishment project and Wilson Mason & Partners provided architectural services. Wates Group is a family-owned award-winning construction services company, whilst Wilson Mason & Partners is an award-winning architect and interior designer.

Over an eight month period, the phased refurbishment saw 35,000 sq ft of back-office and warehouse space released to increase the shop’s selling space by one third. Customers now benefit from a new nursery and childrenswear offer, as well as a significantly extended beauty department.

John Lewis High Wycombe

John Lewis High Wycombe is the first John Lewis store to implement a brand new zoned fitness department which houses wellbeing, running, tennis, outdoor and children’s sportswear. A Gait analysis pod is stationed on the shop floor to assess customer running techniques, whilst Partners offer advice on appropriate equipment.

The shop’s existing audio visual department was also enhanced for the first time and new fitted bathrooms were installed. In addition, multichannel touchpoints allow customers to shop for a wider range of goods online whilst in branch.

John Lewis High Wycombe is open Monday to Friday from 9am until 8pm; Saturday from 9am until 7pm; and Sunday from 11am until 5pm.

The John Lewis Partnership operates 39 John Lewis shops across the UK, which includes 30 department stores and nine John Lewis at home stores. In addition, the John Lewis Partnership owns and operates 297 Waitrose supermarkets, as well as online store johnlewis.com.

John Lewis High Wycombe

The company has an annual turnover of nearly £9.5bn and is the UK’s largest example of worker co-ownership, whereby all 84,700 members of staff are Partners in the business.

For more information on John Lewis, please visit: www.johnlewis.com.

Heights Group Ltd

Heights Group Ltd is a construction, roofing, maintenance and energy management company, specialising in working on projects at height. All staff are highly trained and competent, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to execute projects with quality and safety in mind, whilst also considering the environment in which they are working.

John Lewis High Wycombe

 Working on the John Lewis refurbishment project, Heights Group Ltd undertook a set of intricate maintenance tasks on the building’s roof to stop water ingress into the store. This aspect of the project involved the design of man-safe systems not only for use during the project but also to ensure future maintenance can be delivered safely. The end product was over 400m of safety line, relining over 300m of guttering and the installation of overclad sheets to the existing rooflights.

 Discussing the project, Adam Catchpole, Heights Group Ltd, said:

This project was our flagship scheme with Wates Retail and we took pride in being able to work together with JLP and Wates on such a significant retail project in 2013.”

John Lewis High Wycombe

Adam added:

We pride ourselves on our ability to be able to deliver any project no matter how complex and to do it safely and on time. We know the risks involved and how important it is to get the safety right.”

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Roma Publications