John Lewis to launch in the Middle East with Dubai store
John Lewis is ramping up its expansion outside of the UK with plans to open its first store in the Middle East.
The department store group has struck a deal to open a shop-in-shop in the Robinsons department store in Dubai Festival City Mall – both of which are part of Middle Eastern retail conglomerate Al-Futtaim.
The 15,000 square feet shop will be John Lewis's largest outlet overseas when it opens in the spring of next year. It will also have a bigger range of products than its existing international stores, selling own brand furniture, cookware, textiles, glassware and nursery products as well as bed, bath, living and gifting assortments.
John Lewis said it is also extending its partnership with Robinsons in Malaysia by opening a 630 sq ft shop-in-shop at Robinsons' Kuala Lumpur store in March 2016.
The retailer already has 14 shop-in-shops across Singapore and the Philippines, seven in South Korea and last year announced plans to open a further seven within De Bijenkorf department stores in the Netherlands throughout this year and next.
John Lewis' managing director, Andy Street, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Robinsons again on two new ventures. The success of our existing international shop-in-shops has given us the confidence to open in the Middle East and increase both the scale of the space and product assortment. This is an exciting time for Al Futtaim’s Dubai Festival City Mall and we’re pleased that John Lewis will be a part of the next phase of its redevelopment.”