John Lewis has confirmed the opening of John Lewis at home in Newbury. Opening in 2012, the shop will be located in Parkway - Standard Life Investments' new development, in the town centre.
John Lewis has committed to investing £8 million in Newbury which will boost local employment with the creation of around 160 new jobs. Focusing on furniture, furnishing accessories, electrical and home technology, John Lewis at home Newbury will trade from two levels totalling 40,000 sq ft.
Andy Street, Managing Director, John Lewis, said: 'We continue to believe that there is a strong opportunity to grow our business in the home and electricals sector and are delighted to be bringing a John Lewis at home to Newbury town centre. Although there are a number of John Lewis department stores within an hour's drive of Newbury, research has shown that customers would prefer greater convenience and ease of access to our inspiring products, great value and exceptional service, which our town centre 'at home' shop will provide.'
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.
To allow customers to access and order a wider John Lewis assortment from johnlewis.com, customer online ordering points will be located throughout John Lewis at home in Newbury and customers will also be able to use the free John Lewis Click and Collect service.
Tim Harrison, head of format development, John Lewis, added: '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.'
The Parkway development, opening in October this year (2011), is a 475,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme being developed by Standard Life Investments. One of the only three new shopping centres scheduled to open in the UK in 2011, Parkway will deliver 295,000 sq ft of shops and restaurants, a 550 space shopper car park, and 147 stylish new apartments.
James Stevens, Head of UK Development at Standard Life Investments, said: 'We are delighted to welcome John Lewis at home to Parkway. This is the culmination of months of hard work with all our stakeholders to bring this fantastic new addition to our list of shops. 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.'
Nick Carter, Chief Executive of West Berkshire Council, commented: 'This is great news for West Berkshire. When we started the Parkway project we hoped that big names would be attracted to the scheme, so this announcement from John Lewis is perfect. Their arrival represents another milestone in Newbury's development, a major vote of confidence in the town and the springboard for further economic success.'
Development managers for Parkway are Shearer Property Group. Letting agents are Strutt & Parker and Jones Lang LaSalle. John Lewis was represented by Cushman & Wakefield and Ashworths Chartered Surveyors.
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