EGTV: Exclusive tour of Westfield Stratford and John Lewis’ new store

Westfield and John Lewis have provided EGTV with exclusive access to the Stratford City site at the Olympic Park in east London to mark the handover of the first department store for fit-out.   John Lewis took on its 240,000 sq ft department store along with a 32,000 sq ft Waitrose store at basement this week for fit out ahead of opening in September of next year.   The retail giant announced in September of 2006, shortly after London won its bid to host the 2012 Olympics, that it would be investing £50m in a new store at Westfield’s 1.9m sq ft shopping and leisure centre.   Retail manager Samantha Rowntree said fit out work on a full line store that would focus on updating and consolidating a range of concepts would begin in the next few weeks.   The four-storey department store will set aside around 5,000 sq ft for the sale of 10,000 licensed Olympics products.   Rowntree said the store was looking at a number of ways of appealing specifically to its East London audience.   “The catchment is huge, stretching out as far as Chelmsford and Kent. We will look to communicate with customers in news ways such as via social media,” she said.   John Lewis will also seek to appeal specifically to a demographic that it terms “educated urbanites” via an increased focus on cutting edge fashion.   Rowntree said the store was particularly excited about the opportunity to contribute to the regeneration of the area.   “When we bring a department store to an area we want to be part of the community. We are working with Newham council and Westfield on how we can ensure local people are job ready for what we do.”   To underline this commitment the John Lewis store has been designed with distinctive interlocking circles on its exterior which highlight its commitment to what it terms the “circles of regeneration”.   paul.norman@estatesgazette.com nathan.cross@estatesgazette.com   To access all EGi news stories and commercial property data sign up for a free trial today, or visit the subscription options page to find out more.