John Lewis gets to work on Peter Jones Sloane Square facelift
John Lewis has begun a multi-million pound renovation of its Peter Jones store in Sloane Square.
The facelift will see the store given a curved glass façade, ground floor shop windows, entrances and canopy, and a new, larger, more accessible entrance on King’s Road, according to the Evening Standard.
John Lewis has outline planning permissions, should it want to do more work on the store in future, including opening up the seventh-floor garden terrace to the public.
The employee-owned department store worked with heritage consultants Purcell and architects Sergison Bates on the plans.
John Lewis got the green light for the work a year ago, but it has taken until now to get work moving.
Like most retailers, John Lewis has had a difficult 12 months. Last month it announced it would not be reopening eight stores after lockdown restrictions were eased, putting almost 1,500 jobs at risk.
The retailer said the four department stores and four “At Home” branches are in locations that “can’t sustain a large store”, and will be permanently closed.
Department stores in Aberdeen, Peterborough, Sheffield and York will close, along with smaller At Home sites in Ashford, Basingstoke, Chester and Tunbridge Wells. The pandemic had made them no longer profitable.