John Lewis ushered in a “new era of beauty” as it unveiled its revamped beauty hall at Liverpool One last week coupled with an exciting new partnership with Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty.
The transformed space marks the start of a multi-million-pound investment into the rollout of “beauty discovery destinations” across the retailer’s store estate, with five more makeovers scheduled for this year.
Following the redesign, brands now have a larger space to play with as the business has introduced new counter concepts and shoppers can explore the latest products from big name brands including Charlotte Tilbury, Trinny London and The Ordinary.
“It’s all about the sensory experience, that’s our magic dust,” says Vikki Kavanagh, John Lewis’ chief commercial officer, commenting on the new-look beauty hall.
The store upgrades come as the department store chain is keen to capitalise on the growing demand for makeup, skincare, fragrance and haircare, which collectively has seen sales increase by over 40% in the last five years.
Retail Gazette took a trip to the Liverpool One store to speak with Kavanagh and John Lewis’ head of beauty Heena Mohammed about how the retailer is creating an unrivalled beauty experience for shoppers of all ages.
What’s new?
John Lewis Liverpool One’s new beauty hall is nothing short of a beauty wonderland, spanning 16,000sq ft and carrying 132 premium brands alongside 23 new or expanded counters.
The revamped space sees the launch of Fenty Beauty for the first time in one of the retailer’s stores – the latest brand to join its ever growing roster – as well as the introduction of several other exclusive brands including Trinny London, Le Labo and Loewe to the city.
The store is the first of six beauty hall upgrades scheduled for this year and forms the blueprint for the rest of the estate.
It seemed fitting to kick off the investment at Liverpool One, which Kavanagh shares “the beauty hall here is second [in terms of sales] in our entire portfolio outside of Oxford Street”.
“It’s quite a high ranking store within our business and in certain categories, particularly beauty, we over index hugely,” she says.
Kavanagh notes the store has a wider customer reach compared to its other outlets, with many younger shoppers also coming through the doors, providing the perfect test ground for the new concept and to showcase its new brands.
Following the eight week installation project, Liverpool shoppers will notice the brands on the shop floor speak much louder thanks to more personalised counters. For example, Loewe has installed a green tiled island at its counter for shoppers to explore new products, while Kilian has a mirrored wall display to showcase its array of perfumes.
Mohammed notes one of the biggest changes to the department is the use of zoning. “Customers prefer to shop in different tones so we put makeup together, hair care, fragrance and skin care.”
She says that customers coming into John Lewis “want that elevated service, they want personalisation” and so the retailer kept in mind the various service elements when redesigning the space “to make that purchase extra special”.
It’s not just shiny branded counters and marble table tops that John Lewis is hoping will pull shoppers in, the retailer is also banking on exclusive partnerships with big name brands to offer an unrivalled experience.
“We are one of the few places where customers can come and have a one-on-one treatment at The Ordinary,” Mohammed says.
However, one of its biggest attractions is the new Fenty Beauty counter. It is one of the few in the world to feature the brand’s makeup, hair and skin collections all in one place. It also brings the brand’s web exclusive Body Lava Body Luminzer to the high street.
The play table in the middle of the stand is a new concept for Fenty as it moves beyond the static displays it has in the likes of Boots and Sephora.
“When we look at the online failed searches and the feedback that the customers were giving, this was one of the most requested brands and so we were like, ‘We need to get this brand on board’,” Mohammed says.
At present, Liverpool One is the only John Lewis store in the portfolio to stock the brand – but discussions are ongoing about launching Fenty Beauty in other locations too.
The new beauty customer
The way customers are buying their beauty products is changing, with more shoppers seeking interaction during the purchase process.
It’s one of the reasons why, Kavanagh explains, the new beauty hall format moves beyond the traditional counters and introduces play tables and more areas for consultations.
The Liverpool One upgrades are a step on from the revamped beauty hall in its London Oxford Street flagship, which reopened last year alongside similar transformations at John Lewis’ High Wycombe and Cheadle stores.
Having completed one beauty hall makeover already, the retailer is keen to roll out similar changes to the rest of its estate and is starting with its Bluewater location.
“We’re using a lot more customer demography to drive our decisions,” shares Kavanagh, explaining that the combination of where the opportunity with the customer is and the need to upgrade the physical retail space will drive the investment plan.
It’s not just store changes that John Lewis is referring to when it talks about its “new era of beauty”.
The retailer has steadily been expanding its beauty range beyond its traditional premium reach of Chanel, Clinique and Charlotte Tilbury, to include more accessible brands such as The Ordinary and Sculpted by Aimee as well as luxury labels such as Loewe and Maison Francis Kurkdjian.
Kavanagh says business is seeing growing demand for each end of the spectrum, noting that “the demand at the top end for us is actually outpacing the accessible growth at the moment”.
Mohammed shares that luxury fragrance is the fastest sub-category growth for the retailer, driven in part by more and more young adults coming into stores in search of premium brands, after spotting them on TikTok.
Social plays a “huge” role in the new beauty strategy and the brands it brings on board, Kavanagh says.
“We get customers coming in and they’ve seen something trending on social. The difference with our business is that they can come in and actually smell it, whereas, you know, you can’t do that everywhere,” she says.
John Lewis’ rollout coincides with the continued expansion of beauty giant Sephora and Space NK, as well as the ongoing store upgrade programme at Boots.
However, as Kavanagh points out, with John Lewis, “it’s all about sensory experience, that’s our magic dust” that’s drawing customers into its stores.
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