John Lewis to expand international footprint

Sunday 5 April 2015

John Lewis has announced plans to further its international footprint by opening shop-in-shops within 11 branches of SM department stores and Our Home stores in the Philippines.

The shop-in-shop departments, due to open in summer 2015, will build on the success of John Lewis existing outlets in seven branches of South Korean department store Shinsegae, and follows John Lewis's recent announcement to open shop-in-shop departments in three branches of Singapore department store Robinsons.

The departments will be sited in SM Retail locations across the Philippines, including in their flagship store Makati and three Our Home stores. The sites will be between 300 sq ft and 1,000 sq ft and will have dedicated staff.

The move is part of John Lewis's strategy to seed its brand with international customers, which includes international delivery to 33 countries through johnlewis.com and a shop in Heathrow's Terminal 2.

A wide range of own-brand home products including bed, bath, tableware and home accessories, such as candles and photo frames, will be on offer in a dedicated John Lewis department.

Andy Street, managing director at John Lewis, said: 'The success of our partnership with Shinsegae has given us the confidence to continue our expansion in the international market. SM Retail and Robinsons are the perfect partners to help bring the John Lewis brand to a new Asian customer base. We are actively looking for more international partnerships, and expect to make more announcements about our international plans in the next year.

'While our move into the Philippines and Singapore will give us access to a new emerging market, our focus for physical expansion remains firmly on the UK, with eight new shops scheduled to open across the country in the next few years.'

The SM group is one of the leading conglomerates in the Philippines focusing on retail, banking and property. It has been trading for over 50 years and has a turnover of $4bn and 160,000 employees.


Notes to editors

John Lewis - John Lewis operates 43 John Lewis shops across the UK (31 department stores, ten John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. It is part of the John Lewis Partnership, the UK's largest example of worker co-ownership and all 30,000 John Lewis 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.

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Enquiries

For further information please contact:

Sian Grieve
Senior Communications Manager, John Lewis
Telephone: 07525 271 812
Email: sian.grieve@johnlewis.co.uk

Laura Tattam
Senior Communications Officer, John Lewis
Telephone: 07718 252 536
Email: laura.tattam@johnlewis.co.uk