John Lewis enters Middle East with largest international shop-in-shop to date
John Lewis is to enter the Middle East by opening a shop-in-shop in Dubai in spring 2017.
The retailer’s largest overseas shop-in-shop to date, the 15,000 square foot space will be situated in the new flagship Robinsons department store in Dubai Festival City Mall, both of which are part of Al-Futtaim.
Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Robinsons again on two new ventures. The success of our existing international shop-in-shops has given us the confidence to open in the Middle East and increase both the scale of the space and product assortment. This is an exciting time for Al Futtaim’s Dubai Festival City Mall and we’re pleased that John Lewis will be a part of the next phase of its redevelopment.”
John Lewis will double the product assortment on offer at the Dubai shop compared to its existing international collaborations. The ranges will span own brand furniture, cookware, textiles, glassware and nursery products. This is in addition to bed, bath, living and gifting assortments.
The look and feel of the new shop-in-shop will be designed by John Lewis’s store design team in collaboration with Al-Futtaim and Robinsons.
John Lewis has also announced that it is extending its partnership with Robinsons in Malaysia by opening a 630 square foot shop-in-shop at its Kuala Lumpur store in March 2016. John Lewis already has 14 shop-in-shops across Singapore and the Philippines, seven in South Korea and last year announced plans to open a further seven in the Netherlands throughout this year and next.
Paul Delaoutre, president Al Futtaim Retail, added: “We are thrilled to bring the John Lewis brand and its great products to the Middle East and to Malaysia. For the Middle East, this will coincide with the roll out of our iconic department store Robinsons from Singapore, with the flagship store opening in Al Futtaim Group’s Dubai Festival City Mall.”
Dubai Festival City Mall will be Robinsons’ first department store location in the UAE and at almost 180,000 square feet will be the largest department store in the region when completed.
