John Lewis to open first overseas store in Dublin

The department store retailer, which has 27 branches, has signed a 250,000 sq ft (23,225 sq m) store to anchor the scheme at the Dublin Central shopping centre, which is owned by Chartered Land.

The €50 million store is scheduled to open in 2013 and forms part of John Lewis’ strategy to double the size of its business over the next 10 years.

John Lewis will be the only anchor tenant at the scheme. It will be joined by 109 smaller retail stores.

John Lewis head of retail development Jeremy Collins said the Dublin opening is an opportunity for the department store retailer to “dip its toe in the water” in terms of expansion.

However, he stressed there are no immediate plans to branch out into mainland Europe. “It’s a safe way to experience what it is like to trade in a different country. European expansion is not on the agenda at this point. It’s about opening in Ireland, but it will expose us to all the issues of overseas trading,” he said.

Collins added the retailer will take a flexible approach to its offer in Ireland as it familiarises itself with any differences in demand in Ireland. “We’ve done a huge amount of research, probably far more than we would do for any other project to understand the dynamics of the Irish market. There are some cultural differences. There’s a really strong emphasis on fashion and an underdeveloped homewares market,” he said.

John Lewis expects its Irish store to be among its top 10 performing stores when the Dublin Central scheme opens. The retailer has also signed to open a store in Northern Ireland, in Westfield’s Sprucefield development on the outskirts of Lisburn.

In April, Chartered Land submitted an application to Dublin City Council to build on the site of the former Carlton cinema in the centre of the capital. Approval for Dublin Central is expected to be granted next year.

John Lewis will also unveil a food hall, operated by Waitrose, at its Bluewater store next summer as part of a£20 million refurbishment. It will be its second food hall; it opened one in its Oxford Street store in London.