Could a host of new brands and fresh talent at the helm be the recipe for reinvigorating John Lewis’ fashion proposition? Retail Week assesses the latest changes.

  • John Lewis has added 30 fashion, beauty and accessories brands in order to “modernise” its offer and drive fashion forwards
  • Many of the brands speak to current consumer needs as self-care products and loungewear proved popular during lockdown
  • One expert suggests striking the right balance between own-brand and third-party fashion ranges will be key

John Lewis has announced the addition of 30 new fashion, beauty and accessories brands as it seeks to “modernise” its ranges for contemporary customers.

The new labels include a host of athleisure and skincare favourites, which have become popular during lockdown, in a bid to “resonate with the needs of the customer at this time”.

Fashion has been a steady source of revenue for John Lewis, with sales inching up 0.06% year on year to £1.22bn in the 52 weeks to January 25.

But as a retailer “steeped in its own history”, according to retail analyst Richard Hyman, and the widely acknowledged struggles of the fashion sector amid the coronavirus pandemic, John Lewis really needs a boost to become a leading fashion player.

Finding the balance

The retailer’s fashion strategy has gone through changes in recent years as former managing director Paula Nickolds grappled with the balance between own-label and concession brands in the fashion department.

“It’s clear that [new chair] Sharon White has a different view of what John Lewis’ relationship with fashion should be, compared with the view held by Nickolds,” says Hyman.

In the retailer’s strategic review update in July, White revealed her intentions to focus on building up the home and nursery categories, indicating that fashion is not her first priority for investment. 

With home and electricals sales weaker in its latest financial update, down 3.04% to £1.05bn and 3.07% to £1.35bn respectively, this angle makes sense.

John Lewis Kingston reopening June 2020

In July, John Lewis chair Sharon White announced plans to focus on the home and nursery categories

“It looks as though the composition of the fashion offer and its size is going to be different – fashion for John Lewis will become a bit smaller and homewares will become bigger instead,” says Hyman.

“The composition being smaller is really an about-turn. Nickolds wanted to make fashion more about exclusive, private own-labels and adding 30 or so new brands is taking it in the opposite direction.”

Hyman believes that despite Nickold’s efforts, John Lewis did not invest a sufficient amount of money into creating, buying and merchandising its own-label offerings, so perhaps it is a sensible decision for White to bring in more labels to drive fashion forwards, especially if apparel will make up a smaller portion of the retailer’s category mix in future.

The beauty of department stores is being able to select which third-party brands you stock so that you are not dependent on the success of your own ranges

Maureen Hinton, GlobalData

Many of the new brands are also being released online only, or online and in a limited number of stores, reflecting the shift to online shopping over the past few months. 

White’s strategic plan to go digital first is evidently surfacing in its fashion investments, which will help set it up for the future. 

GlobalData retail research director Maureen Hinton agrees that finding a good balance between own brand and newcomers could help pave the way for John Lewis’ future success.

“The big change over the past few years is the expansion of its own-branded ranges, which should be providing it with a better margin than third-party ranges,” she explains.

“The beauty of department stores is being able to select which third-party brands you stock so that you are not dependent on the success of your own ranges, like M&S for instance. And you have the flexibility to make changes when needed – as it is doing by bringing in new, up-and-coming brands that will appeal to its customers and give it an edge.”

New brands

les girls les boys

Athleisure brand Les Girls Le Boys is one of a host of new fashion names to be added to John Lewis’ offer

Brands that John Lewis has added for the autumn/winter season include athleisure ranges from brands such as Calvin Klein and Les Girls Les Boys, footwear brands Fila and Ganni, and British clothing retailers Fat Face and Sosandar.

It has also brought in products from haircare specialist Olaplex and skincare player Kate Somerville, as well as a new beauty-at-home technology division that features skincare brands such as Foreo and Dermaflash.

The new-look assortment reflects a change in consumer demand over the past few months for more self-care at home and comfortable clothing.

“As part of the work we’re doing to modernise John Lewis, we’re introducing new brands that we feel really resonate with the needs of our customers at this time, whether that’s comfortable, stylish loungewear that’s smart enough for a Zoom call or skincare products that enhance their natural complexion,” explains John Lewis fashion director Christine Kasoulis.

“Our aim is to be the preferred fashion partner for brands. We’re proud to be able to offer these fantastic brands a broader platform and network that enables them to reach even more customers.”

We’re introducing new brands that we feel really resonate with the needs of our customers at this time, whether that’s comfortable, stylish loungewear that’s smart enough for a Zoom call or skincare products that enhance their natural complexion

Christine Kasoulis, John Lewis

Sosandar chief executive Julie Lavington says the retailer decided to work with John Lewis on a third-party basis due to its customer reach, as well as its tendency towards full-price retailing.

Sosandar, which sells women’s clothing online and has a particular focus on denim, leather and dresses, was approached by John Lewis pre-Covid, which Lavington dubs an “opportune” time and still believes that the retailer can help grow the brand despite the current struggles in the fashion industry more generally.

“Part of Sosandar’s growth plans were to start working with third-party retailers,” Lavington says.

“Up until now, we’ve gone from a start-up four years ago to a £9m-turnover business growing incredibly fast by selling through our own website.

“We chose to work with John Lewis because we thought it was a good complementary brand. They have a really good profile of customer; they have an affluent, relatively upmarket customer that complements our brand very well. 

“They also have very strong brand equity with a strong relationship and engagement with their customers and they’re not a discounter. We’re very much focused on selling good quality and good value clothing, footwear and accessories, and we don’t focus on discounting so John Lewis is similar in their approach.”

“We felt it would broaden our footprint, bring revenue growth and help to build brand awareness for Sosandar as we’re still a young brand.”

Never knowingly undersold

John lewis oxford

John Lewis is clearly trying to shake things up in the fashion department, but will that work with its current strategy?

Hyman, however, worries that other parts of John Lewis’ new strategy may have an impact on its fashion department.

“I think Paula’s view was that a bigger private label would help distance the John Lewis offer from ’never knowingly undersold’ – if you’re selling a product that isn’t available elsewhere, then there’s no price comparison,” he explains.

By introducing more branded items, John Lewis initially opens itself up for customers to make use of the promise more often, but with the mooted end to the pricing pledge it opens itself up to more criticism for taking it away.

The retailer is clearly trying to shake things up in the department, reversing the actions of Nickolds and introducing elements to keep up with the current consumer demands. 

While the focus is on home and nursery as the struggling divisions for now, it clearly wants to keep fashion moving forward – the latest changes and the overt alertness to trends is designed to ensure that fashion won’t disappear into the background.

Fashion may only be a small part of John Lewis’ offer, but its one it could succeed at if it keeps this up.