Replacing the old, stuffy department store': John Lewis boss on its revamp

"The store is a perfect invention, and we've seen only too well, coming back from Covid, how people have gravitated back to the stores."

"There are definitely no plans to close anything and there are parts of the country the department store would like to step into."

"We are getting rid of the old stuffy department store and replacing it with something more experiential, he says."

"I do get the sense that obviously has been a lot of doom and gloom, and it's coming late, but it's coming hard."

John Lewis closed 16 stores during the pandemic and cut thousands of jobs before returning to growth and reporting a £10m profit for the year to January. The retailer plans to invest £800m by 2029 to reboot its 36 remaining outlets and is exploring expansion into new parts of the country. Peter Ruis returned last year after more than a decade away to lead the revival and has refocused stores toward experiential retail, removing the old stuffy department-store format. The chain expects a late but intense Christmas shopping period and faces a challenging season ahead.

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