Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
At 9am yesterday (Thursday November 12), the new co-located John Lewis ‘at home’ and Waitrose Basingstoke shops opened their doors to customers for the first time.
The 46,000sq ft John Lewis. at Basing View, is the retailer’s 12th ‘at home’ shop and the largest co-located John Lewis and Waitrose to date. The two shops share office space, a dining room and locker rooms. This joint venture allows customers to shop at both John Lewis at home and Waitrose in one trip, while ‘at home’ customers have the benefit of Waitrose’s catering facilities.
Basingstoke customers will discover one of the first ever Home Hubs in the John Lewis shop: a dedicated area bringing together all of John Lewis’s home design services, and showcasing the retailer’s home interior products through a display of room sets.
Customers can choose from an edited selection of 16,000 products across furniture, furnishing accessories, homeware, technology and nursery departments in-store, and use iPad terminals to shop the retailer’s full assortment online. The first customer purchased an Orla Kiely Sugar Bowl from John Lewis ‘at home’ at 9:05am.
The 26,000sq ft Waitrose store is only the fifth branch in the country to include a wine bar where customers can enjoy tapas and wines. Offering over 20,000 lines, Waitrose Basingstoke also includes a rotisserie and cafe and it’s only the eighth Waitrose store in the UK to include a juice bar.
