John Lewis has unveiled its biggest store refurbishment in four years with a £10m investment at its Bluewater location, introducing two brand-new flagship concepts that the retailer says are directly shaped by customer demand.

The transformation includes the launch of John Lewis’ first dedicated gifting emporium as well as the most significant revamp of its home department to date.

According to the retailer, the move comes in response to a surge in demand for gifting inspiration, with visits to its online gifting hub up 15% year-on-year.

New Gifting Emporium

The new 650 sq m gifting emporium brings together nearly 1,800 new products and 14 newly added brands. Instead of traditional category merchandising, the space is arranged around customer “passion points” — including home lover, hobbies and adventure, and botanist — designed to make browsing and inspiration easier.

Major Home Department Overhaul

Bluewater is also the first John Lewis branch to showcase the retailer’s new lifestyle-led home concept. Customers can now “shop by inspiration” across five curated styles developed by the brand’s in-house design team:

  • Heritage

  • Modern Lux

  • Scandi’

  • Rustic

  • Timeless

The new approach is intended to help shoppers visualise complete looks and build confidence in styling their homes.

Further Upgrades Across the Store

Alongside the gifting and home innovations, the refurbishment includes:

  • A redesigned beauty hall

  • Expanded men’s and women’s fashion departments

  • A new Waterstones shop-in-shop

The investment is part of John Lewis’ wider £800m multi-year programme to strengthen and modernise its store estate.

Jason Wilary-Attew, John Lewis Director of Home, said: “From weddings, new babies, and thoughtful thank yous, John Lewis has long been the home of year-round gifting. This year we are turbo charging that with the launch of our first gifting emporium.”

He added: “I’m equally thrilled to unveil the biggest transformation we’ve ever made to the home department. Our new lifestyle-led concept, built around five distinct styles, is designed to inspire customers and make it easier than ever to create a look they love.”

“Bluewater is the perfect destination to touch, see and feel both of these incredible new experiences first-hand, and we look forward to introducing them to more of our stores in the future.”

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