John Lewis has kicked off the make-over of its nationwide beauty halls and announced a new tie-up with Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, as part of an £800 million investment into the brand.
The retailer unveiled the new concept at its Liverpool store on Friday, with five more set to open this year.
The beauty hall has been expanded by nearly 40% and features 132 premium brands, with 23 new or expanded counters including labels Trinny London and Byredo.
John Lewis also announced a new partnership with Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty with the brand debuting in the Liverpool store and launching a new collection online.
The singer and make-up mogul said she was “proud to expand our Fenty Beauty brands even further by finally launching at John Lewis in the UK”.
John Lewis last year pledged to inject more than £250 million into its stores over two years as part of the restorations, which will pump a total of £800 million into the John Lewis brand over the next four years.
Peter Ruis, John Lewis’s executive director, had said some of its stores needed “more love” after a challenging few years for the retailer, which has included a handful of store closures and a shift in shopping behaviours following the pandemic.
However, the group is betting on the future of a modernised shopping experience, with its revamped beauty halls featuring “multi-sensory” experiences including fragrance spaces, treatment rooms and beauty services.
Similar refurbishments are set to launch at stores in Bluewater, Solihull, Cambridge, Welwyn and London White City before the end of 2025.
“The vision is for the stores to be destinations where people can discover and shop curated collections, learn from an expert, try a new beauty treatment, or meet a friend for lunch,” Vikki Kavanagh, John Lewis’s chief commercial officer, said.
Beauty sales have surged by more than 40% over the past five years, attracting new and returning customers both in stores and online, John Lewis said.
When the initiative is complete, the retailer expects to offer some 540 beauty counters, almost 70 treatment rooms, and more than 400 beauty services nationwide.
John Lewis unveiled a £6.5 million upgrade to its flagship Oxford Street store in London last year, which included a new larger beauty hall, a dedicated fragrance space and Waterstones bookshop within the store.
