New multi-million pound shop is John Lewis’ tenth at home shop!
At 9am Thursday 7th November, 2013, John Lewis at home Ashford opened its doors to customers for the first time. The two storey, 40,000 sq ft shop, near junction 9 of the M20 in Kent, is the retailer’s tenth ‘at home’ shop and has created 125 jobs in the local area.
Before the doors opened, branch manager Glynis Gunning-Stevenson gave a speech to her team of Partners (staff) about the role they will play in bringing the John Lewis at home offer to Ashford and thanked them for their hard work and dedication in the run up to today.
To officially open the shop, a ribbon was cut by representatives from local organisations the shop is supporting as part of its charitable giving scheme, Community Matters; Action on Hearing Loss, Demelza House and Young Kent.
From 8.30am, 50 eager customers queued outside the shop to be the first to explore the product lines on offer as well as brand new services such as ‘Any Shape, Any Fabric’, which lets customers design their own sofas and chairs by choosing from more than 250 frames and 400 fabrics.
Maggie Porteous, director of selling, north and new format at John Lewis said: “Our ‘at home’ format has been extremely popular with customers since we first introduced it in 2009 and we are delighted to now be opening the tenth one in Ashford. It is testament to the team to have completed the construction and fit out so efficiently and it’s fantastic to be able to open the doors in time for Christmas.”
Glynis Gunning-Stevenson, branch manager at John Lewis at home Ashford, said: “We are thrilled to have opened our new shop in Ashford today – it’s the culmination of 30 weeks of hard work and it’s fantastic to see how much has been achieved.
“The new shop is perfectly placed to meet shoppers’ needs in the Kent area, with a wide range of products and services on offer, including over 60 different televisions and 240 different pillow and duvets. We’re very much looking forward to getting to know our customers and becoming part of the local community.”
Customers coming through the doors at John Lewis at home Ashford will find:
- Nearly 30 different coffee machines
- Over 60 different televisions
- Over 650 bed sheets ranging from baby cot to super king size
- More than 30 different kettles and toasters
- Over 50 different colours of plain towels
- 240 different pillows and duvets
- The John Lewis Home Design Service
John Lewis at home Ashford focuses on furniture, furnishing accessories, electrical and home technology. In store computer terminals for browsing the wider johnlewis.com catalogue are available, as well as the free John Lewis Click and Collect service, which allows shoppers to order products online before 7pm and collect them at the branch after 2pm the following day or opt for home delivery. There is also a customer cafe, and additional services include the John Lewis Gift List .
John Lewis at home Ashford is open Monday to Friday from 9am until 8pm, Saturday from 9am until 7pm and Sunday from 10.30am until 5pm (including Sunday browse time from 10.30am until 11am).