John Lewis is to open its first pop-up shop in Exeter next month, giving customers a preview of the assortment of products that will be available in the retailer's first flexible format department store, which opens on 12 October.
The pop-up shop, which will open its doors on Exeter High Street on 3 September, will house fashion, beauty, consumer electronics and home products in a contemporary industrial design environment with approximately 1200 square feet of selling space. The shop which will be open for six weeks, will be designed from materials such as galvanized steel and chipboard and will feature touches such as hand-written labels.
In another first, Exeter residents will also get a sneak peek at John Lewis's newest womenswear addition, Somerset by British designer Alice Temperley. House, a new home range featuring affordable products including furniture, lighting, textiles, and cooking and dining accessories, all designed to complement the contemporary urban home will also form part of the offer. The new and exclusive JME range by Jamie Oliver will also be available in-store, along with John Lewis favourites JL&Co, Joe Casely-Hayford and John Lewis Weekend.
The shop was designed in line with John Lewis's omnichannel strategy and will act as a Click and Collect hub. The free service enables shoppers to choose from more than 200,000 products on the department store group's website, johnlewis.com. Orders placed before 7pm can be collected from the John Lewis pop-up shop after 2pm the following day.
Peter Ruis, brand and buying director, John Lewis said: 'This way of launching a new shop really engages with the local community, whilst at the same time goes back to the basics of retailing - finding a site, choosing an edited assortment and presenting it to customers in a creative and unique way.'
Kate Connock, branch manager, John Lewis Exeter said: 'The launch of the pop-up shop in Exeter underlines the excitement around the opening of our first department store in the city. It is fantastic that we can bring John Lewis to the residents of Exeter a little bit earlier than anticipated, giving them a sneak peek at what we will have to offer when we open our doors on the 12 October.'
The John Lewis pop-up shop is situated on 194 High Street in Exeter. The shop's opening hours will be; Monday to Friday from 9.30am until 6pm, Saturday from 9am until 6pm and Sunday from 11am until 5pm.
The John Lewis Exeter shop is the retailer's first flexible format department store with a full John Lewis assortment including fashion, beauty, consumer electronics, home and nursery. With over 65,000 square foot of selling space spread over five floors, it will be the biggest John Lewis shop to open this year and the first to open in Devon and Cornwall.