Vittorio Radice, boss of Marks & Spencer's home stores, thinks it will take three shops to perfect the new Lifestore format.
He told Tuesday's HSBC Retail Conference that 'mistakes will definitely be made' in the flagship scheduled to open in Gateshead in February. Radice said: 'In the first store, we will definitely make mistakes, which we will correct in the second store. The third store will be the one where we will roll-out.'
He would not be drawn on target store numbers, but said there would be both multi-concept and single concept standalone shops. Gateshead is arranged around nine 'concept' areas, including relax, cook, escape and alfresco.
The home offer will comprise 10,000 different lines, which will be unveiled at a press show in November.
But Radice, renowned for his fashion-led retail vision, promised the home assortment would not scare off M&S's traditional shoppers.
'I don't think the product is going to be cutting edge, it'll be normal everyday product. It's going to be fantastic, but not unreachable,' he said.
M&S has acquired a second site at an undisclosed location for a home store.
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