John Lewis to launch in Ireland with Arnotts

London - John Lewis is pushing forward with its international expansion plans and is set to launch in Ireland. The British department store group has signed a deal with local department store Arnotts to its debut open a shop in shop in the country.

The strategy, which is similar to the one John Lewis has employed with partners de Bijenkorf, in the Netherlands and Shinsegae, in South Korea, and will see John Lewis opening a shop in Arnotts store in Dublin this October.

Set to span 2,000 square feet across two floors, the new area will feature over 700 lifestyle and homeware products from John Lewis own-brand, including furniture, kitchenware and textiles. The agreement will also see John Lewis offer its range online through Arnotts website, marking the first large initiative taken by the department store since it was acquired by the Weston's family Selfridges Group last November.

"We’re delighted to introduce John Lewis own brand Home products to our customers. The new range will enhance Arnotts existing position as the largest and only full line department store in Ireland," said Arnotts Managing Director Donald McDonald in a statement. "We look forward to introducing other exciting new brands to Arnotts over the coming months."

John Lewis has reportedly been trying to enter the Irish market for a number of years now. The British department store group was previously connected to a bid to take over Clerys when it was declared bankrupt in 2012.

Photo: Arnotts, Facebook