John Lewis to spend £800m on store facelifts, with beauty halls set to expand

John Lewis has rolled out an £800m makeover plan, which includes enhancing their beauty halls across revamped stores.

After a challenging period that saw closures and redundancies, the department store giant is showing its branches some "more love", with a cash injection exceeding £250m focused on revamping its stores over the coming two years. The investment is part of a grander four-year rejuvenation scheme totalling £800m to revitalise the John Lewis brand.

The retailer unveiled plans on Thursday for a mega facelift of its iconic Oxford Street store in London, introducing a fresh collaboration with celeb chef Jamie Oliver. Come next year, foodies can look forward to a Jamie Oliver Cafe and a cooking school opening at this location.

The Jamie Oliver Group has hinted at further such openings within John Lewis outlets if things go well. The £6.5m refurb of the Oxford Street store also boasts a new beauty hall, exclusive perfume zone and even a Waterstones bookstore within its walls.

John Lewis outlets in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and Cheadle, Greater are getting ready for their own beauty hall expansions as part of this extensive retail face-lift. The retailer said it has been boosted by strong recent beauty sales, which were up almost 7% over the first half of 2024, compared with the previous year.

Peter Ruis, John Lewis' executive director, said: "The buzz is back in John Lewis and we’re giving our customers even more reasons to shop in our brilliant stores. We’re backing ourselves with significant investment to ensure customers get the exceptional quality, outstanding service, and competitive prices they love about our unique brand."

The employee-owned retailer also celebrated a robust onset to the festive period, noting an 18% sales jump from their collection compared to last year. Commenting on recent trends, Mr Ruis observed that there's been "optimism" among consumers despite them facing ongoing budget strains.