John Lewis opens its first European store as it expands into the Netherlands
John Lewis may be the chattering classes' favourite department store at home – but so far, it hasn't ventured into Europe.
But that's about to change: today the retailer announced plans to open its first European offerings – in the Netherlands.
The company said it will open three "shop-in-shops" in de Bijenkorf department stores.
The first three will open in the spring, in de Bijenkorf's Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague stores. Over the rest of 2016 and 2017, it will also launch in stores in Eindhoven, Utrecht, Amstelveen and Maastricht.
The first three offerings will be between 300 sq ft and 500 sq ft, selling John Lewis' own-brand home and lifestyle products.
It's not the first time the department store has gone international – over the past couple of years it's launched concessions in Singapore, the Philippines and South Korea.