First Mini Habitat Store in Sainsbury’s Opens

Habitat Mini Store

 

Since Sainsbury’s £1.4bn takeover of Argos and Habitat owner Home Retail Group earlier this year, plans to introduce the two brand concessions were accelerated. The new 61,000sq ft flagship Sainsbury’s store in Nine Elms, London, is the first to house the two brand concessions.

 

Within Sainsbury’s Nine Elms supermarket is Habitat’s first Mini Habitat. Furthermore, there are plans to launch another four UK stores by early 2017. The new Mini Habitat stores in Sainsbury’s are set to launch in Reading, Epsom, St Albans and Solihull. While plans for Argos are to either launch an Argos concession or click and collect point in every Sainsbury’s outlet across the UK. In addition, Sainsbury’s has plans to relocate existing Argos stores within its store network.

 

To help boost its multichannel growth strategy, the furnishings retailer, Habitat, is looking to create a network of regional touch point stores.

 

More than 600 products will be found within the Mini Habitat stores. Also there will be a range of price points across furniture, lighting, textiles, upholstery and homewares.

 

“This new relationship with Sainsbury’s offers the habitat brand significant growth potential,” says MD of Habitat, Clare Askem. “We’ve seen our brand evolve rapidly over the last few years and the opportunity to create a new network of local stores with a new national partner that will support our multichannel business strategy is a really exciting prospect. We’ll be working closely with Sainsbury’s on these pilot stores to understand the full potential of this format and gauge customer reaction but I’m confident that our brand will connect with Sainsbury’s shoppers and make Habitat more accessible to shoppers both on the high street and online.”

 

LEGO Flagship Store to Open in London

Concept Visual of new flagship store

 

London’s Leicester Square is set to be the home for the new LEGO flagship store. The new landmark store will be the biggest LEGO Brand Retail Store in the world. This is due to the store standing two floors tall and spreading over 5,420 sq ft. This will consequently make it a must see tourist attraction for anyone who finds themselves in the capital.

 

Scale models of both the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben are set to sell in the store. The Big Ben model will even include a scale version of the Big Ben bell. More than 200,000 bricks are being used to build the Big Ben model. Therefore it will take an estimated 2,280 hours to complete. Once completed, the model will dominate both levels.

 

Furthermore, the new flagship store will boast interactive technology. This technology has not yet been seen in any of the currently existing LEGO stores. In addition to the technology, the store will present a host of other exciting features. These will include a LEGO retail environment, exclusive product sets, hands-on building areas, building demonstrations and a Pick & Build Brick Wall.

 

“We want to inspire and develop children across the globe through creative LEGO play experiences, and our LEGO Brand Retail Stores allows children, parents and fans to explore the many different LEGO products while getting a truly unique and immersive experience of the LEGO brand,” said Loren Shuster, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at the LEGO Group.

 

“I am looking forward with excitement to November 17th, where children and parents are invited to experience a world beyond their imagination as they venture for the first time inside the new store. I am sure that the unique brick-built symbols of London featured in the store will excite fans worldwide as well as in the UK.”

 

Lester the tea-drinking LEGO Minifigure will also be exclusive to the Leicester Square store.

 

The opening is set to take place on November 17th.

 

The LEGO Group

 

The LEGO Group currently owns and operates 130 LEGO Brand Stores worldwide. The new central London location is set to be the 14th in the UK alone. The Danish family-owned company also has several amusement parks around the world.

 

While it was found back in 1932 it wasn’t until 2015 that it became the world’s largest toy company, in terms of revenue.

 

John Lewis to Invest £9m in Beauty Department

John Lewis acts on rising demand for beauty ranges

John Lewis Department Store

 

John Lewis has launched a £9m investment to go into its beauty department across several branches. The retailer is looking to supercharge its beauty business as a result of the fashion department being out sold by face creams, makeup and perfumes. Furthermore, the development will include the introduction of new brands.

 

Stores in Cambridge, Cribbs Causeway, and Bluewater will have their beauty halls increased by about 50%. While stores in Cardiff, Stratford, Peter Jones and Cheadle are also receiving investments in their beauty halls.

 

Also included in the plans is the distribution of existing popular brands. These will include Chanel, M.A.C, Marc Jacobs Beauty, Tom Ford Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Jo Malone, Urban Decay, and La Prairie. You’ll be able to find these brands on the department store’s website. They will be available via click & collect and many will feature in the two new stores to come. The first will be opening in Chelmsford on 29th September. While the other will be opening in Leeds on 20th October.

 

“Beauty is one of the best performing categories at John Lewis and a significant football driver, so this investment is a reflection of our ambition in this space,” buying director for fashion and beauty at John Lewis, Ed Connolly said. “We are continuing to bring new and contemporary brands to our customers across both fashion and beauty, and we have one of the widest and best beauty selections of any department store in the world.”

 

The news has come as no surprise as John Lewis has joined a number of retailers, including Marks & Spencer, and supermarkets, such as Sainsbury’s, in expanding their beauty ranges due to rising demand.

 

In contrast, fashion retailers aren’t doing so well. They have hit a rough patch that saw 2015 autumn and winter sales hit by the warm weather. More recently the wet and chilly start to summer 2016 forced many chains into early discounting.

 

The John Lewis refurbishments will be complete by the end of October later this year.