John Lewis will hire its first-ever manager of brand experience for its new Oxford store in a bid to ramp up its experiential credentials.

The manager will be responsible for running an event on every trading day of the year, such as gin tasting, as well as monogramming and embossing to allow customers to personalise products purchased in-store.

John Lewis will also send its Oxford store staff to theatre school before they join to support its efforts.

The store opens on October 24 and builds on the standard set when John Lewis opened its store in Leeds last year, badging the venture as its “most experiential store ever”.

The details of the store were revealed at John Lewis’ media dinner, hosted by new managing director Paula Nickolds.

She spoke about wider consumer sentiment, admitting that she would have preferred to start her tenure as managing director under “slightly more benign conditions”.

“The backdrop is very uncertain and it was made worse by the tragic events that happened across British cities over the last few months,” she said.

“They [customers] feel uncertain and worried about what the circumstances will mean for their future financial prosperity.”