John Lewis is ramping up its push into services and experiences as it expands in-store concessions, spanning fine art and luxury holidays.
The department store group is broadening its shop-in-shop offer as it looks to give shoppers more reasons to visit its stores beyond traditional retail, with customers now able to buy works by artists including LS Lowry and Picasso and book bespoke holidays under the same roof.
The development includes a partnership with Clarendon Fine Art, which has opened galleries inside John Lewis’s Oxford Street flagship and Southampton store, with a third site set to launch in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, in October.
The galleries offer art consultations, home advisory services, bespoke framing, delivery and installation, with specialists on hand to help both first-time buyers and established collectors.
Works available span contemporary artists alongside established names including Lowry and Pablo Picasso.
John Lewis director of services and hospitality Katie Papakonstantinou said the retailer was looking for new ways to make its stores more experiential by combining shopping with “moments of inspiration and discovery”.
The department store is also building its travel offer through Kuoni, which operates concessions in stores including Oxford Street and Southampton.
The travel specialist offers bespoke luxury holidays ranging from beach breaks to cultural trips, supported by in-store advisers.
The expansion forms part of John Lewis’s wider strategy to make its physical estate more service-led and experiential as it competes with online rivals and looks to drive store footfall.
Its branches already house a growing range of concessions and services spanning beauty treatments, personal styling, home design advice, cafés and specialist retail partners.
The retailer has also been investing heavily in its store estate, with refurbishment programmes and a wave of new brands forming part of its wider turnaround plans.
John Lewis has increasingly positioned its stores as destinations rather than purely transactional shopping spaces, using hospitality and third-party partnerships to broaden the range of reasons customers have to visit.
The Clarendon deal reflects that approach, embedding a high-value specialist category inside the department store environment rather than operating it as a standalone gallery.
John Lewis’s Oxford Street branch already lists Clarendon Fine Art alongside services including Kuoni Travel, beauty treatments, specialist cleaning and children’s fittings.
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