John Lewis makes major change to UK stores amid £800m investment

Boss Peter Ruis said the relaunch of the brand’s sports and wellbeing product range is an “important step” in its major store investment plan.

The department store business, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership group, said its new sports and wellbeing departments will make it the first UK retailer to bring sportswear, footwear, wearable technology, recovery, AI-powered fitness and expert services together in one location.

The move will help the retailer take on major players in sportswear, such as Sports Direct, as well as technology specialists.

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The multimillion-pound investment has already transformed the sports department in its London Oxford Street site.

It will also fund similar redevelopments in Liverpool and Cheadle, as well as a new department in its Glasgow shop.

The departments will be up to around 5,000 square feet and have been designed so shoppers can move easily between apparel, footwear, technology, home fitness and recovery.

The concept will include sports brands including Nike, Brooks and Patagonia alongside wearable technology from Garmin, Oura and Whoop, recovery products from Therabody, and premium home fitness equipment from Peloton, NordicTrack and Speediance.

Shoppers will also be able to use free gait analysis and other technology to help them find the right footwear and other products.

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The investment is part of an £800 million cash injection from John Lewis into its 36 stores across the UK.

One of these can be found at Oxford’s Westgate shopping centre as the anchor store at the retail location, which reopened back in 2017 following a full-scale renovation.

Mr Ruis, managing director of John Lewis, said: “Customers increasingly shop around a goal rather than a traditional retail category.

“Whether someone’s training for their first marathon, taking up Hyrox or simply looking to live a healthier lifestyle, they want everything they need in one place.

“Our combination of leading brands, expert partners, nationwide shops and strong digital offer means we’re uniquely placed to support customers across every part of their fitness journey – from finding the right footwear and technical clothing to discovering the latest wearable technology, home fitness and recovery products.”