The John Lewis Liverpool Blog

Friday 30 May

What an incredible day it was yesterday! From the moment we arrived early in the morning to the moment we locked up last night, everything went so well we could hardly believe it!

The day began with a final opportunity for all the Partners to gather together in the atrium of the new shop to hear a few words from John Lewis’ Managing Director Andy Street. Many of our head office colleagues made the trip to Liverpool to support us on this momentous day, and it was wonderful not only to have them here but also to see their genuinely delighted reactions to our fantastic new shop. As the crowds began to gather outside, our very special guests – the children and head teacher from Holy Cross Primary School – arrived, and as they walked through the shop the waiting Partners gave them a spontaneous round of applause.

The children looked absolutely lovely in their smart red uniforms and, once again, were all really well-behaved and charming! By a happy coincidence it also turned out that one of the group – Tom – was celebrating his seventh birthday, so he was treated to a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to You’ from all the Partners as we waited for the final countdown and the moment we’d all been waiting for – the opening of our new shop.

At 10.15 am precisely, the children cut the ribbon accompanied by a huge round of applause from all of us – and the doors opened to let in an enthusiastic and curious stream of customers.

It was certainly worth the wait – we had such positive reactions from the thousands of customers who came in throughout the day, and it was quite clear that people were sharing our delight in the shop, with its stunning design, natural light, clear and easy to follow layout, and wonderful choice of stock in all departments. And the tills were buzzing too – we had a brilliant day of trading and look forward to more to come over the weekend and the weeks and months ahead.

So, a huge thank you to all the Partners who have worked so hard to make our Liverpool dream come true – and to all the customers, old and new, who make it all worthwhile. We hope you will become regular visitors to our spectacular new home and I look forward to meeting many of you personally over the summer as we settle in.

Thursday 29 May

The day we’ve been working and waiting for is finally here! After all the months, weeks and days of preparation, we’re ready to open the doors to our superb new shop – and we just can’t wait. It’s been another action-packed week with lots of emotions – including sadness as we closed the doors at the old shop at Basnett Street for the very last time on Monday, and excitement as we put the finishing touches to our new home. Now, everything is in place – all the stock is on display, the catering teams have tried and tested all their new dishes, and the Partners, old and new, are ready to welcome the customers to our stunning new shop.

Yesterday, we were delighted to invite six of our customers in for a special preview tour – they had all won the chance to have a look behind the scenes in our prize draw, and it was lovely to see their reactions. We’re absolutely confident that the shop is a real achievement – light and airy and really easy to work your way around – but it was great to see how impressed our customers were too.

It should be a brilliant day today – as I looked out of the window first thing, the sun was breaking through the clouds, so it looks like the weather is smiling on us after a couple of grey and miserable days. And we’re really looking forward to welcoming today’s special guests – nine children from Holy Cross Primary School in the city centre who first visited the shop in December last year when they buried a time capsule containing a number of toys and other items which they felt would really sum up the Liverpool of today for the Liverpudlians of the future.

They’ll be making a return visit today and will play their role in making history by cutting the ribbon and formally declaring our fantastic new department store open for business.

We thought long and hard about how we wanted to mark this really significant event and everyone agreed that to ask the children to perform the opening made total sense. As a business, one of our top priorities is to play an active role within the communities where we operate, and building links with local schools is an important part of that. The children were fantastic fun when they visited before and they clearly had a great time – so we’re thrilled that they and their families can join us for this momentous day for John Lewis Liverpool.

Friday 23 May

Another incredible 24 hours, with yesterday’s royal visit by The Queen and Prince Philip creating a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Partners! We were delighted when we heard that the royal party would be including John Lewis on their itinerary during their visit to Liverpool, and it was great to see all the Partners in their John Lewis T-shirts lined up outside the store as the royal party walked past.

It’s hard to believe there are just three more trading days left at our current shop in Basnett Street – and I’m sure there will be some tears when we finally lock up for the last time at 4pm on Monday. The shop has been such an important part of Liverpool and John Lewis’ history for many, many years and it’s hard not to feel emotional about leaving it behind. But we’re all incredibly excited about the move and we can’t wait to start welcoming customers into the new shop.

Once we close on Monday, it’s full steam ahead as we start to move the rest of the stock from the old shop to the new one. Everything is in place for one final push towards completion and my thanks go to all partners and colleagues from other organisations who are working with us to make this challenging task as smooth and as seamless as possible. The hard work and commitment that everyone has shown has been incredible and we know that by opening day, everything is going to look absolutely stunning.

Wednesday 21 May

Two of John Lewis’ core values are excellence in design and support for local communities – and those two values came together this week, as we installed a number of specially commissioned artworks in the new store, some of which are by local artist Nathan Pendlebury.

Nathan’s stunning paintings are now hanging in the Espresso Bar – our new 100-seater cafe offering drinks and light snacks and overlooking the spectacular Chavasse Park at the heart of Liverpool One. The opportunity to see Nathan’s contemporary and stylish work will be an added bonus for the customers who choose to take a well-deserved break in the Espresso Bar’s cool and calm surroundings.

Even customers waiting for the lifts will have the chance to enjoy some contemporary art. Gudawer Kalirai has exhibited in many London galleries and has won prizes for his photographs. Specialising in large commissions, using the most advanced digital techniques printing on surfaces such as canvas, aluminium and acrylic, Gudawer’s work has real dramatic impact and will definitely create a big attraction in the lift lobbies on each floor.

The installation of the artworks is another significant step towards opening day. With many departments virtually ready for business, and our teams working incredibly hard to make sure that, come next Thursday, 29th May, everything is absolutely perfect, there’s only one thing still missing – you, the customers!

Tuesday 20 May

What a week it’s been! We always knew that the last couple of weeks before we moved would be hectic and they certainly have been – but it is such an exciting time that I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed every minute!

A few days ago, we were absolutely delighted to host a special preview for those people who have been particularly supportive during the last few years, as we progressed from the initial plans for our new store, through all the many months of construction, then into this final phase where we are stocking up the new shop and putting in the finishing touches ready for opening next week.

Around 60 people came along to our preview tour and we really appreciated the fact that they took time out of their busy schedules to visit us. Colleagues from the City Council, the local media, the Chamber of Commerce, Mersey Travel, the Culture Company, JobCentre Plus and the Mersey Partnership were among the guests – and the feedback was fantastic. We’re absolutely confident that the new shop is really something special – but it’s great to see other people’s reactions when they see it for the first time!

Media interest in what we’re doing is also hotting up. As the largest John Lewis outside London, it’s only to be expected that journalists will be keen to find out more about how things are going, and yesterday we were delighted to host a visit from the BBC’s Working Lunch, with whom I did an interview which will hopefully go out on opening day next week. Obviously, they were keen to know how we thought the current economic situation might impact on our success - but we’re confident that the John Lewis approach, with its commitment to quality and excellent customer service, will continue to ensure our ongoing popularity and that the new store will be an important factor in attracting even more shoppers to Liverpool City Centre.

So, with just nine days to go until opening, there’s still a lot to do, but everyone is pulling out all the stops to make sure we’ll be fully prepared for opening day. So, put the 29th of May in your diary and come along and see the new shop for yourself – I’m sure you’ll be impressed!

A brand new approach!

We know how much Liverpool shoppers love their brands, and one of the many exciting things that’s been happening in the run up to the new shop opening is being able to announce a whole host of new and exciting brands that we’ll be selling – alongside many of our current favourites.

We were delighted to welcome representatives from some of beauty’s most famous names recently, for a sneak preview of our fantastic new ‘women’s’ floor, where their brands will be on sale from opening day on May 29th. New beauty brands which will be in store for the first time include Elemis, Care by Stella McCartney, Philosophy, Frederic Fekkai and Cowshed, and they’ll be joined by existing favourites Bobbi Brown, Chanel, YSL, Prescriptives, Molton Brown, REN, and Crabtree and Evelyn.

Also new to the South John Street shop will be an Elemis pod, a Decleor beauty room and a Clarins spa – where customers can relax and enjoy top quality treatments from specialist consultants.

We work really closely with all the cosmetic companies and their area managers are very important to us. They’ve listened to us talking about the new shop and obviously had heard about our plans – but for them to actually take a tour round the shop gave them the chance to see just how spectacular it is and what a fantastic showcase it will be for their products, and we know it made a real impression.

It’s not just the beauty department which will be offering new brands, though – we also have new brands in women’s fashion such as Fat Face, White Stuff and Noa Noa featuring alongside current favourites such as Fenn Wright Manson and Coast. New shoe brands include Rocket Dog, Poetic License and DKNY.

Menswear will also see some new arrivals including French Connection, Timberland and Ungaro, which are all set to share the magnificent new surroundings with current brands Ted Baker, Diesel and Boss.

We’re all really excited about the move and the chance to bring these exciting new brands to our Liverpool shop, and we hope all our customers – old and new – will feel the same! It’s less than a month now until opening – and we can’t wait to see you all in our new home – but it’s still business as usual at Basnett Street until we finally lock the doors one last time at 4pm on Monday 26th May.

Nine weeks to go!

It’s hard to believe that we’re now on the final countdown – with just nine weeks to go before we move into the new shop. As you can imagine, there are some busy times ahead, but we have fantastic support from our central team who are already based in the city and making sure that everything goes according to plan with preparations in the new shop – which means that we can keep focused on maintaining business as usual in Basnett Street.

One of our busiest areas is recruitment, as we’re expecting to take on around 200 new partners to help us meet the needs of the new store – both in terms of the increased trading space, where we’ll be selling lots of exciting new brands as well as all the old favourites, and to cover the extended opening hours. As part of Liverpool One, we’ll be staying open until 8pm Monday to Friday and 7pm on Saturdays, giving our customers chance to call in after work for example, or maybe dropping in for a bite to eat before a night out in town.

We’ve already had lots of applications for the new catering jobs – working either in the Espresso Bar or the Place to Eat – but we still need more. And we’re also looking to recruit a number of section managers for the new shop too. One of the messages we’re keen to get out is that there are plenty of part-time opportunities, even in the more senior positions. We know that there are lots of people out there with the skills and experience which would make them ideal partners for John Lewis – but because of family commitments, they don’t want to work full-time.

That’s certainly not a problem for us. We have a number of part-time partners already working as department managers - such as Jan Hamilton, our menswear manager, and Kathryn Yassin, our beauty manager, both of whom feel they’ve got the work-life balance just right. There’s no reason why you can’t have a rewarding and responsible job with us – and still have time with your family – so why not check out our website at www.jlpjobs.com to find out about opportunities which could be suitable for you.

I value my work-life balance too – so I’m taking next week off to spend some time with my family. We’ll be walking and talking and generally recharging all our batteries – ready for the hectic, demanding and incredibly exciting weeks ahead in the run up to D-Day – the 29th May!

February 2008: Handover!

We took a really huge step forward last week, when we officially received the new building from our shopfitting partners Wates – and we are now just thirteen weeks away from the opening on 29 May.

The handover marks the culmination of months of hard work by the shopfitting team from Wates, who have worked tirelessly to transform the building from an empty shell into a top quality department store which looks set to attract shoppers from all over the UK. It’s the quickest fit out ever achieved – with just 32 weeks between shell handover, when Wates moved in, and practical completion last week - so a huge thank you to everyone who has played their part in this phenomenal achievement!

We’re now working closely with our head office partners, whose job it is to ensure that we are fully ready for business when the doors open on May 29. There will be lots more exciting news as things take shape over the next few weeks and months – but we can already announce that our fantastic new beauty department will host a number of new brands, including Elemis and Care by Stella McCartney.

We are delighted that the vast majority of our current partners are making the short – but very significant – journey with us from Basnett Street to our fantastic new home in South John Street, and they will all be playing a vital role in ensuring a smooth transition from old to new. And it’s also great news that we will be creating more than 200 new jobs too, bringing more good quality employment opportunities for people in Liverpool.

January 2008: The search is on!

The search is on for ten top chefs – and around 140 other new partners – to help us make our new Liverpool shop, scheduled to open on May 29th, a recipe for success!

The ten chefs will be joining our head chef Tony Sim and head of catering Gerard Fennell to create a winning team charged with making both the new third floor ‘Place to Eat’ overlooking Chavasse Park and the ground floor ‘Espresso Bar’ an outstanding success.

Most of our existing partners are moving into the fantastic new department store with us but, because the new shop is 40% bigger – and has a fabulous new restaurant and a number of new and exciting product ranges – we will be looking to recruit around 150 new partners in total.

All new members of staff, or partners as we are called at John Lewis, will become a part of the department store’s unique partnership structure, as well as receiving a range of benefits including access to holiday and leisure facilities, education support and an excellent pension scheme.

Whether you’re the managing director or a sales assistant on the selling floor, everyone at John Lewis is considered equal when sharing the rewards of our efforts. To work with the Partnership means to work with people who genuinely care about the business we all share in - it is a rare business ethos.

January 2008: Liverpool in the limelight

Happy New Year! Now that it’s 2008 there’s a real buzz in Liverpool, thanks to the launch of our year as European Capital of Culture, which has really made us the centre of attention both throughout the UK and beyond.

It’s great to see this wonderful city in the limelight again. It’s well-deserved too, with everything that’s going on - not only those activities specifically organised for Capital of Culture year, but also the longer-term physical and economic regeneration of the city, which we’re proud to be playing our part in.

Now that the festive season is over, we can turn our attention fully to the excitement of our own move later this year. Progress on our new shop on South John Street has been phenomenal and the fit out is scheduled for completion in the middle of next month. Once that’s done, we will be into the final stage of preparation for the move – making sure that everything is in place for the grand opening, the date for which will be announced in the next few weeks!

Customers were asked to rank high street shops on a number of key criteria: range, price, convenience, quality, service, ambience, facilities and layout. Nationally, we increased our overall satisfaction score since last year, and have now been ranked first for service for eight years.

Most of our partners are moving with us to the new shop and there’s a real buzz amongst them too – after many happy years of delivering a top class service from our existing premises, we now can’t wait to continue and improve on that offering in our fantastic new building, at the heart of the city’s retail renaissance.

December 2007: Local pupils bury time capsule

We were delighted to welcome ten pupils from Holy Cross Primary School into the shop to pick out a selection of this year’s most sought after presents – including an Ipod shuffle and a 2007 John Lewis teddy – ready for packing into a time capsule to be buried in the walls of our new shop on Paradise Street.

The children also wrote a letter explaining why they’d chosen the capsule’s contents and the significance of each item and the letter, along with a copy of that day’s Liverpool Echo and some photographs and magazines from John Lewis, joined the toys and gifts in the box.

After a packed lunch in our dining room, the boys and girls made their way onto the building site, where they donned hard hats, protective glasses and high visibility jackets ready for making their contribution to the city’s history.

The event was a huge success, and thanks are due not only to the children and headteacher Angela Holleran, but also to our partners at Wates – our shop fitters – who went out of their way to make it a day to remember. The event was captured by Granada TV and Radio Merseyside as well as a number of photographers – so the children really felt like celebrities for the day!

This is obviously our last Christmas in what has been our home for many years and we wanted to do something special to mark the move from the old to the new. What better way to do that than to create a day to remember for the children – and to get them to help us put together a lasting piece of history for the city.

And that’s not all that’s been happening! We’ve also witnessed an incredible feat of civil engineering, as the spectacular new bridge linking the John Lewis shop with the Q car park opposite was lifted into place, in spite of fairly horrendous weather conditions. The finishing touches of glass and stainless still will be completed in the first few weeks of the new year, creating a stunning entrance into our new department store.

Added to that, we have had an excellent trading period in the run-up to Christmas, bucking the national trend for retail. We believe that our continued success is based on our commitment to excellence in customer service – and thanks are due to every single partner in the Liverpool John Lewis operation for their part in that success in 2007 and the part we know they will play in our move to our wonderful new shop in 2008.

My best wishes to everyone for a very happy Christmas and a great 2008!

December 2007: Our last Christmas in our current home

We know the move from an old department store to a fantastic new one can be done (and very successfully so) having just seen the experience of our colleagues in Cambridge who recently moved into their new location, attracting thousands of excited shoppers on day one alone.

That’s exactly the start we hope to have in our new 240,000 sq ft flagship shop with 4 selling floors, part of the Liverpool One development. As part of the move, we’ll be taking the opportunity to look at all our merchandising and introduce new, contemporary ranges into many of our departments, such as women's and men's fashion, as well as ensuring that we maintain the brands our customers already know and love.

Many of our Partners will be making the move with us to the new store – but there'll also be a number of new job opportunities, especially in the catering area, and we’ll be starting recruitment for those vacancies early in the New Year. There's still much to be done before the move – not least working towards what we hope will be our busiest Christmas trading period ever in our existing store. We’ve spent many happy and successful years here, and we know many customers and partners have extremely fond memories of the former George Henry Lee store.

There’ll be plenty of developments over the next few months that we’ll want to share with you - so I’ll be updating my blog on a regular basis. Our task for 2008 is to ensure that we create a wonderful new department store for the people of Liverpool and beyond. Everyone at John Lewis Liverpool is really excited about the challenge ahead – and we’re all really looking forward to welcoming you to our new bigger and better department store during Capital of Culture year – and to seeing you over the next few weeks as we prepare for a wonderful Christmas.