John Lewis to launch new womenswear and lifestyle concept

Department store chain John Lewis is looking to boost its fashion credentials with the launch of a new women’s fashion and lifestyle concept called Found, which will launch in the new Birmingham store when it opens on September 24, as well as online on the same day.

The idea of Found is to showcase a curated edit of existing and new brands across womenswear, accessories, beauty, homeware, as well as technology, to allow customers to “buy” into a whole lifestyle.

The boutique style store-within-a-store concept marks a fundamental shift in the way John Lewis sells fashion, as the department store hasn’t before brought together fashion, home and technology in such a way.

Paula Nickolds, brand and buying director at John Lewis, explains: “Found at John Lewis will bring together fashion, home and technology products in a way we haven’t done before. Through our customer insight we know our customers want an edited selection of product and they like all parts of their life to reflect their style, extending beyond their clothes to the candles in their homes and the headphones they wear.

“Found at John Lewis will create this for our customers seamlessly, creating an effortless boutique shopping experience that is both engaging and unique in terms of product and environment. We hope customers will explore Found at John Lewis with a sense and feeling of discovery.”

John Lewis to debut new Found fashion and lifestyle boutique

The retailer will introduce 27 new brands to the Found concept, including clothing brands Maison Scotch, BZR by Bruuns Bazaar, Supertrash, Samsøe & Samsøe, Urban Code, Parka London, Numph, Des Petits Hauts, which will sit alongside accessories from Nike, Asics Onitsuka Tiger and Jessie Harris jewellery, as well as homeware ranges Amelia Robe Chocolate and the School of Life, and tech brands such as Freuds, Braven and MightyPurse.

The idea is to bring a more contemporary, fashionable aesthetic to the retailer’s womenswear offering and to appeal to a younger audience.

The concept will debut at the new John Lewis Birmingham store when it opens on September 24, the same day as it launches online, and the concept will then roll out as part of the transformation of the Liverpool fashion floor, which is due to be launched in November this year.

In the Birmingham store the Found at John Lewis concept will span across 4,000 square feet, and will include a pop-up brand installation space that will evolve every six weeks and will be used as a space for experiences, installations and brand pop ups. The first brand to occupy this area will be Shore Project watches, followed by fashion and homewares label House of Hackney. The area will also house the Joe and Juice cafe.

The launch of the new boutique also comes as the retailer announces a 4.5 million pound refurbishment of the fashion and beauty departments at its Liverpool department store. The refurbishment, which will be completed in November, will see the fashion and beauty departments span across the entire first floor of the shop in Liverpool One, totalling 45,000 square feet.