Today John Lewis Chelmsford opened its doors to customers, marking the opening of the retailer's first ever branch in Essex. Part of Chelmsford's new £150m Bond Street development, John Lewis Chelmsford includes 90,000 sq ft of selling space over three floors, stocking over 65,000 products.
John Lewis Chelmsford brings together some of the best services that John Lewis has to offer; from a Kuoni travel concession to its renowned Home Design Service and a new Bar:Cafe concept from Benugo, allowing customers to enjoy a glass of prosecco straight from a tap or Benugo's signature coffee whilst they shop.
The shop has the largest beauty hall out of all of John Lewis's small full-line department stores at 7,900 sq ft, with 14 premium beauty counters including M.A.C, Charlotte Tilbury and Nars. Chelmsford will also feature fashion brands including Ralph Lauren, Whistles, Finery and John Lewis's new own-brand luxury womenswear label modern rarity.
John Lewis Chelmsford's interior design plays homage to the city's heritage as the birthplace of radio. Various references, including On Air signs and microphones, can be found on display throughout the shop.
Laura Rawstron, branch manager at John Lewis Chelmsford, says: "Today marks a very exciting time for John Lewis and we're delighted to open the doors to our first shop in Essex. It's one of our most modern shops to date and brings together the very best of John Lewis' products and services. Our new team of Partners have worked incredibly hard to get us to this stage and I'm very proud of everyone involved. Together with the Bond Street development, this John Lewis shop will create a new retail and leisure offer that ensures Chelmsford has something for everyone."
At a ceremony held this morning, branch manager Laura Rawstron was joined by John Lewis Partner Stephanie Shields to cut the opening ribbon. Stephanie had been selected following her outstanding performance over the month-long training programme.
The opening day concludes John Lewis's journey to Chelmsford, with the shop first breaking ground in January 2015. The shop, which represents an investment of £18m by John Lewis, has also recruited 300 Partners (staff) coming from Chelmsford and the surrounding area.
