John Lewis Partnership acquires home improvements business Opun to enhance home services offer

Monday 4 June 2018

The John Lewis Partnership today announced that it has acquired Opun, which manages home improvement projects on behalf of customers. The acquisition will strengthen the retailer’s position in the home services market while also complementing its home product range.  

Following the acquisition, Opun will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the John Lewis Partnership and will retain the Opun brand.

Formed three years ago, Opun was founded with one aim; to remove consumer pain from home improvement. Employing around 50 people across two offices, Opun has developed a unique operating model that utilises technology to drive customer efficiencies in a market famed for opacity.

Sean Allam, director of commercial operations at John Lewis, said: “John Lewis is known for its home product offer, and for delivering exceptional customer service. Opun’s commitment to end-to-end customer service chimes with our values, and we think it’s a great fit for John Lewis customers. This acquisition will improve our capability in the home services market, built through our own trials with John Lewis Home Solutions.”

Founders, Rod Brown and John Cushing, said: “We founded Opun with a view to revolutionising the home improvement experience, putting customer values first and delivering a world class service using technology as our backbone. We are delighted to be joining John Lewis, which shares the same values as Opun.”


Note to editors

The John Lewis Partnership operates 50 John Lewis shops across the UK, johnlewis.com, 353 Waitrose shops, waitrose.com and business to business contracts in the UK and abroad. The business has annual gross sales of over £11.5bn. It is the UK's largest example of an employee-owned business where all 85,500 staff are Partners in the business.

John Lewis - John Lewis operates 50 John Lewis shops across the UK (36 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. The retailer stocks around 350,000 separate lines in its department stores and on  johnlewis.com across fashion, home and technology.  This year John Lewis won, 'Best Multichannel Retailer 2018', 'Best Clothing Retailer 2018', and 'Best Furniture Retailer 2018' at the GlobalData Customer Satisfaction Awards 2018.  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.

*GlobalData Retail Customer Satisfaction Awards 2018

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Enquiries

For further information please contact:

Lexi Finnigan
Communications Manager, Corporate
Email: lexi.finnigan@johnlewis.co.uk
Telephone: 0207 592 6424 

Sian Grieve
Senior Communications Manager, Partner Communications
Email: sian.grieve@johnlewis.co.uk
Telephone: 0207 592 6887