Department store chain John Lewis has today opened dedicated London 2012 Olympics shops in all of its full line stores, as the beginning of the international sporting extravaganza edges closer.
John Lewis is one of the main sponsors of this summer‘s event and already had Olympics shops at several of its stores, including on London‘s Oxford Street, with thousands of pieces of merchandise and associated goods on sale.
From today each of its main stores will offer 3,000 official London 2012 products, its Oxford Street shop has increased to 6,000 sq ft in size, and all of its smaller at home outlets will now offer a selection of Olympics goodies.
Analysts have previously predicted that the Olympics could be worth an extra £100 million in revenue to UK retailers, and the government‘s recent decision to suspend Sunday trading laws over the duration of the games could well push this total up even further.
London 2012 Chairman & former Olympian Sebastian Coe commented: “These new London 2012 shops are a great opportunity for people across the UK to show their support for the London 2012 Games and for Team GB and Paralympics GB.”
Lord Coe was on hand to open the newly extended Oxford Street Olympics shop this morning, where activities, mascot appearances and competitions took place.
The first full-size John Lewis London 2012 shop was opened at Westfield Stratford, the shopping centre which sits next to the Olympic park in September, last September and that store features a viewing area where customers can overlook the main stadia built specially for the games.
Since the official merchandise first went on sale the most popular London 2012 product has been the £10 Olympic Games British Icons Red Routemaster Bus, while the £5 Union Jack Mug and the £6 Union Jack Keyring have also sold well.
Peter Ruis, Buying Director at John Lewis, said: “We are delighted to further our support of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with the roll-out of official shops in each of our branches.
“We have seen strong sales of London 2012 merchandise in our existing London 2012 shops and with the 100 days to go milestone just around the corner, excitement towards the Games is definitely building.”
