John Lewis and Waitrose today announce that their new Horsham shops, co-located on Albion Way, will open to customers at 9am on Thursday 18 June - in just under six weeks' time.

John Lewis 'at home' Horsham will present an edited selection of 16,000 products across furniture, furnishing accessories, homeware, technology and nursery departments.

The shop will also be the first John Lewis branch to introduce the Home hub - a new concept that will bring together all home services and allow customers to browse John Lewis' full furniture range, whether in-store or via online portals, in one space. Surrounding the Home hub will be a series of 11 room sets displaying various interior trends in an inspirational setting, and inside the hub customers will be able to coordinate their furniture, floor coverings and soft furnishings using John Lewis' various design services with the help of John Lewis Partners.

The development, which has created a total of 217 new jobs, will see John Lewis 'at home' and Waitrose become truly integrated, giving customers the opportunity to browse both shops in one trip. John Lewis customers will be able to access all of the Waitrose catering facilities, including a juice bar, wine and beer bar, a new bakery and café. Customers will also be able to place johnlewis.com orders from within the branch, and collect online orders via Click & Collect.

Nigel Davis, branch manager, John Lewis 'at home' Horsham said: 'It's tremendously exciting to have the opening date confirmed, and I'm already looking forward to opening the doors to our first customers.

'I am particularly proud to open the first ever John Lewis branch to feature the Home hub, which will bring all of our beautiful home products together in a way that has never been done before.'

Jo Thomas, branch manager, Waitrose Horsham said: 'This is an extremely exciting time for the team; relocating to a bigger location with a much wider offer, and joining forces with Partners at John Lewis to provide our customers with an improved and more convenient shopping experience.'

John Lewis 'at home' Horsham will be open Monday to Saturday from 9am until 8pm, and Sunday from 10am until 4.30pm (including Sunday browse time from 10am until 10.30am).

Waitrose Horsham will be open Monday to Saturday from 7.30am until 9pm, and Sunday from 10.30am until 4.30pm. The café will be open Monday to Saturday 7.30am until 8pm and Sunday 10am - 4pm.

There will be over 350 parking spaces available at the site.

Notes to editors

The John Lewis Partnership - The John Lewis Partnership operates 43 John Lewis shops across the UK (31 department stores, 10 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2), johnlewis.com, 338 Waitrose shops, waitrose.com and business to business contracts in the UK and abroad. The business has annual gross sales of over £10bn. It is the UK's largest example of worker co-ownership where all 93,800 staff are Partners in the business.

John Lewis - 'Multichannel Retailer of the Year 2014'¹ , 'Best Overall Retailer'² and 'Best Retailer 2014'³, typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department stores across fashion, home and technology. Johnlewis.com stocks over 280,000 products, and is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK. John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products - home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover - delivering the values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.

¹ Oracle Retail Week Awards 2014
² Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Awards 2014
³ Which? Awards 2014.

Enquiries

For further information please contact:

Julia MacCarron at Red Consultancy
Telephone: 020 7025 6558
Email: Johnlewisnewbranchesteam@redconsultancy.com