MORE than 200 jobs will be created with the opening of a flagship designer homestore on Chester’s Greyhound Retail Park.
John Lewis has announced it will open the £7 million ‘at home’ shop this autumn, the first store of it’s kind in the North of England.
The new ‘at home’ shop, to be built on the site of the current Carpetright store, will feature 38,000 sq ft of selling space and focus exclusively on furniture, furnishing accessories, electrical and home technology.
Construction of the two-storey home and electricals building is due to begin in March.
Tim Harrison, head of format development for John Lewis, said: “Chester is a really important location for this ‘at home’ development. It will be of course the first store to be created in the North of England and research indicates that there is a powerful catchment area for a John Lewis store here.
“This store will aim to create the wow factor and the reaction to the announcement has been excellent.
“We look forward to providing Chester shoppers with our differentiated service, inspiring products and great value.”
The John Lewis ‘at home’ concept successfully launched in Poole last October and an additional three shops will be open by the end of 2010 including Croydon, Swindon and Tunbridge Wells. Chester, along with a new site in Exeter, will take the total ‘at home’ shops to six.
Andy Street, managing director at John Lewis, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing a John Lewis ‘at home’ shop to Chester which is a great fit for us in terms of location and catchment, and gives shoppers in Cheshire more convenient access to a John Lewis.
“We have been keen on opening in Chester for some time and we look forward to giving local people a broader shopping offer.”