Jamie Oliver is set to inaugurate a new cookery school and cafe at John Lewis’s Oxford Street branch in March 2025. This venture is part of John Lewis’s £800 million refurbishment initiative aimed at enhancing customer experience.
- The cookery school will include two classrooms and a 50-seat cafe, marking a significant milestone as John Lewis moves into offering direct educational experiences.
- The flagship store recently reopened after a £6.5 million upgrade, featuring enhanced floors and an improved beauty hall.
- Peter Ruis of John Lewis emphasizes the excitement brewing in the store as customers are provided with more reasons to visit.
- This initiative will serve as a testing ground for additional store upgrades planned over the next few years.
Jamie Oliver is poised to open a cookery school and cafe at the newly revamped John Lewis flagship store located on Oxford Street. This initiative, scheduled for March 2025, forms a segment of John Lewis’s extensive £800 million investment plan designed to transform its retail spaces over the coming years. The introduction of this cookery school, comprised of two classrooms and accompanied by a 50-seat cafe, signifies a novel step for John Lewis as it embarks on providing culinary education directly to its customers.
Although the retailer has previously partnered with Waitrose for a cookery school in west London, this project at Oxford Street is the first time cookery classes will be held directly under the John Lewis brand. Last week saw the unveiling of the upgraded Oxford Street store, which underwent significant enhancements totaling £6.5 million. Improvements spanned across all floors, including a revamped beauty hall and the introduction of several new brands in the home department.
Peter Ruis, the John Lewis executive director, comments on the fresh buzz surrounding the store and how this investment underscores the company’s commitment to offering quality, service, and value. ‘The buzz is back in John Lewis and we’re giving our customers even more reasons to shop in our brilliant stores,’ Ruis stated, highlighting the strategic focus on customer satisfaction through innovative retail experiences.
This London flagship, situated in one of the city’s most bustling shopping districts, is being leveraged as a site for trialing new concepts and ideas. These efforts underscore John Lewis’s broader strategy to extend similar enhancements across its retail network in the forthcoming years. The establishment of the cookery school is intended not only to draw in customers but also to enrich their in-store experience through an engaging, educational format.
This new venture by Jamie Oliver and John Lewis is poised to enhance the shopping experience while innovatively diversifying the store’s offerings.
