John Lewis' new Essex store officially open for business

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 30, 2016

The new £18m John Lewis store in Chelmsford opened its doors to the public on Thursday morning, creating 300 new jobs. The store marks the first ever opening in Essex and follows the launch of a branch in Birmingham last year.

The shop, located in the city’s new £150m Bond Street development, spans over 90,000 sq ft of space over three floors.  It has the largest beauty hall out of all John Lewis’ department stores nationally, featuring 14 premium beauty counters and stocking leading brands such as M.A.C, Charlotte Tilbury and Nars.

The Chelmsford store also houses a variety of premium and coveted fashion brands, including Ralph Lauren, Whistles, Finery, Mulberry, Michael Kors and Reiss. They sit alongside John Lewis’ new own-brand luxury womenswear label, modern rarity. In total over 65,000 products across several departments are available at the shop.

Laura Rawstron, Branch Manager at John Lewis Chelmsford, said: “It's one of our most modern shops to date and brings together the very best of John Lewis' products and services. Our new team of Partners have worked incredibly hard to get us to this stage and I'm very proud of everyone involved. Together with the Bond Street development, this John Lewis shop will create a new retail and leisure offer that ensures Chelmsford has something for everyone.”

As well as a Bar:Café concept from Benugo, which allows shoppers to enjoy from a glass of prosecco to a cup of tea, the store offers services including a Kuoni travel concession and a John Lewis Home Design Service.