London, UK, 2014-1-31 — /EPR Retail News/ — John Lewis has been unveiled as the ‘Official Department Store Provider’ of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. The partnership will see the retailer provide bedding and white goods for the Athletes’ Village.
Glasgow 2014 merchandise is also available to buy on johnlewis.com now, and, later in the year, dedicated Glasgow 2014 shops will open within John Lewis’s Scottish shops, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
The partnership with Glasgow 2014 also continues John Lewis’s commitment to providing unique experiences for customers. Selected my John Lewis customers will have the chance to obtain tickets to Commonwealth Games events.
John Lewis’s sponsorship of the Games builds on the success of the department store’s support of London 2012. Across the country, John Lewis’s sales of London 2012 official merchandise exceeded expectations by 25 per cent, while sales of its own-brand celebratory range, ‘Celebration of Britain’, were 44 per cent higher than expectations.
Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014, David Grevemberg, said: ‘The John Lewis brand is synonymous with strong values and great quality, making it a great fit within the Glasgow 2014 sponsor family.
‘With the support of such an excellent household name in the Official Department Store Provider category, Glasgow 2014 will continue to build towards success in what will be a truly memorable year.’
John Lewis Retail Director, Andrew Murphy, said: ‘We’ve been supporting Glasgow 2014 since the bid stage, and are delighted to continue our support by becoming the Official Department Store Provider of the Commonwealth Games. There was so much excitement around the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, and I think Glasgow 2014 will build on this to create a true legacy for our Partners*, Scotland and wider UK.
‘We want our shops to be a central part of the celebrations: not only with the merchandise we will sell, but through some of the great events we’ve got planned for customers and Partners alike.’
Minister for Sport and Commonwealth Games, Shona Robison, said: ‘I am pleased to welcome John Lewis to the Games family, one of a growing number of Games sponsors committed to delivering the best ever Commonwealth Games. By showcasing Glasgow 2014 merchandise, John Lewis will help to build excitement and help people enjoy the Games experience.’
Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: ‘I am delighted to welcome the announcement of another sponsor for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. This news is all the more pleasing as John Lewis has such a strong presence in Glasgow, and will offer a great showcase for Games merchandise.’
Peter Nicolson, Commonwealth Games Scotland, said: ‘It is great news that John Lewis has joined the Glasgow 2014 sponsor family. I’m sure they will help create a fantastic Games Village environment for all the athletes, while we are really looking forward to seeing the Team Scotland merchandise in particular flying off the shelves of their Scottish stores as our home supporters gear up for the Games.’
Notes to editors
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving 70 teams of athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years. Glasgow 2014 will be the 20th Commonwealth Games and will be held from 23 July to 3 August. It will feature 17 sports in 11 days of competition with 250 medal events on show. The Games will play host to 4,500 athletes and sell 1,000,000 tickets, with the event aided by an army of 15,000 local volunteers. Glasgow 2014 Ltd is the official name for the Organising Committee tasked with delivering the Games in partnership with the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and Commonwealth Games Scotland.
The John Lewis Partnership – The John Lewis Partnership operates 40 John Lewis shops across the UK (30 department stores and ten John Lewis at home), johnlewis.com, 300 Waitrose shops, waitrose.com and business to business contracts in the UK and abroad. The business has annual gross sales of over £9.5bn. It is the UK’s largest example of worker co-ownership where all 85,500 staff are Partners in the business.
John Lewis operates three Scottish department stores in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as its Hamilton Contact Centre, employing a total of 2,300 people in the country. John Lewis acquired its first Scottish shop in 1943 when it bought The Silk Shop in Edinburgh, and subsequently went on to open department stores in Edinburgh in 1973, Aberdeen in 1989 and Glasgow 1999.
John Lewis – John Lewis, ‘Retailer of the Year 2013’¹ , ‘The Nation’s Best Retailer’² and ‘Best Retailer 2013’³, typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department stores. The website stocks over 250,000 products focused on the best of fashion, beauty, home and giftware and electrical items including online exclusives. johnlewis.com is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK. (www.johnlewis.com). John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products – home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover – delivering the usual values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.
¹ Oracle Retail Week Awards 2013
² Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Awards 2013
³ Which? Awards 2013
Glasgow 2014’s official partner level sponsors are Longines, SSE, Emirates, Virgin Media, BP and Ford. For more information on Glasgow 2014’s full sponsor family, please visit http://www.glasgow2014.com/games/our-sponsors
Glasgow 2014, the Commonwealth Games Federation and UNICEF are working together in an exciting partnership that will transform the lives of children in Scotland and throughout the Commonwealth. Using the power of sport and culture this unique partnership aims to inspire, enable and empower the children of the Commonwealth to be the best they can be.
The partnership between Glasgow 2014 and the Scottish Commonwealth Games Youth Trust aims to ensure SCGYT can create a Glasgow 2014 Fund to introduce a new Commonwealth-wide programme to bring young Commonwealth athletes and coaches to Scotland and to send young Scottish athletes and coaches to Commonwealth countries to build on relationships, understanding and co-operation developed in the 2014 Games and thus help to further develop and perfect sporting abilities in the spirit of the Commonwealth movement. The SCGYT Glasgow 2014 Fund will raise income in several ways including Team Scotland merchandising royalties and other Games related packages.
Enquiries
For further information, please contact:
Laura Tattam
Senior Press Officer, John Lewis
Telephone: 020 7592 5715
Mobile: 07718252536
Email: laura_tattam@johnlewis.co.uk
Kate McCheyne
Glasgow 2014 PR Manager
Telephone: 030 2014 0176
Email: kate.mccheyne@glasgow2014.com