John Lewis to add dozens of premium brands in clothing push

John Lewis will add dozens of new menswear and womenswear clothing ranges - Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

John Lewis is launching a fresh fashion drive by adding 100 new clothing brands to stores in a challenge to rivals Next and Marks & Spencer.

The retailer is preparing to add dozens of new menswear and womenswear clothing ranges from premium British fashion names and buzzy up-and-coming brands as it targets stronger fashion sales amid a turnaround drive.

New lines being released in the autumn will include an exclusive collection from luxury handbag maker Mulberry, featuring 25 options across bags and accessories, as well as high-end brands like Akyn, By Malene Birger and Iro.

New camping wear from Japan’s Snowpeak and parkas from famed Newcastle-based designer Nigel Cabourn are also on the cards. John Lewis currently stocks 650 different clothing brands, according to its website.

It comes amid a major push to boost sales at John Lewis, as bosses seek to stage a turnaround of the department stores.

The drive also includes refurbishing tired stores and recruiting more shop floor staff. Around £800m is being funnelled into the John Lewis brand while the partnership is also spending on refreshing its Waitrose stores.

Turnaround efforts at John Lewis are being overseen by Peter Ruis, who was hired last year to head up the department stores. He brings more than 30 years of experience across fashion brands including Jigsaw and Anthropologie.

Mr Ruis said his strategy would be about giving customers “even more reasons to shop in our brilliant stores”.

‘Sky is the limit’

The renewed focus on fashion will be seen as a major challenge to rival high street stalwarts Next and M&S, which for years have been boosting their ranges.

Figures from Global Data suggest Next has grown its share of the clothing and footwear market from 5.1pc to 6pc between 2019 and 2024, while Marks & Spencer has gone from a 4.6pc to a 4.9pc share.

Meanwhile, John Lewis’s market share has remained flat over the same period at 1.5pc.

Mr Ruis recently suggested the “sky is the limit” on how much growth John Lewis could see in fashion, saying the clothing department could more than double revenue from £1.2bn per year to £2.5bn.

Alongside the new high street ranges, John Lewis is also bolstering its own-label clothing lines, with the retailer set to launch its biggest ever cashmere collection this autumn. It is expecting this to drive sales of cashmere up by at least a fifth this year.

Rachel Morgans, director of fashion for John Lewis, said the team was “carefully curating a premium quality range that offers customers something different” to try to convince shoppers to come into its stores over rival retailers.

Story Continues

She said: “When it comes to brands, we’re not chasing numbers, but focusing on those that appeal to our customers and offer something new.”

Louise Deglise-Favre, from Global Data, said John Lewis was likely to win more shoppers over this year as it boosts its “fashion credentials”.

She said the retailer will have also benefited from customers having been unable to buy online at Marks & Spencer in recent months after its rival was hit by a devastating cyber attack which took its systems offline.

M&S only brought back its online orders in June, six weeks after the cyber attack. It resumed click-and-collect last week.

Ms Deglise-Favre said: “M&S’s inability to trade for many weeks and its ongoing operational struggles following the hack has created an opportunity for John Lewis to capture some of this lost spending thanks to its similar positioning.”

View Comments