London, 2017-Mar-23 — /EPR Retail News/ — John Lewis has taken the next step toward opening its first ever shop in Oxford today ( 16 March 2017) by announcing the appointment of long-standing Partner Julie Blake as Branch Manager.
Julie will be responsible for the overall success of the 120,000 sq ft shop, which represents an £18m investment in Oxford by John Lewis. As branch manager of John Lewis Oxford, Julie will lead around 300 local Partners (staff), including sales assistants and specialist advisers.
Julie has been with John Lewis for over 30 years, having started as an A-level management trainee at the retailer’s Reading department store. She later went on to spend time as General Manager, Selling at John Lewis’ flagship Oxford Street store, where she was responsible for seven selling floors as well as the PR, Marketing and Visual Merchandising for the branch. Julie has been at the helm of many John Lewis shops, undertaking the role of Branch Manager at John Lewis Watford, John Lewis Solihull and most recently, John Lewis At Home in Newbury.
Commenting on her new role, Julie Blake, Branch Manager at John Lewis Oxford said: ‘As someone who works in the surrounding area, I’ve been following the plans for John Lewis Oxford very closely. I am beyond excited to be appointed Branch Manager for our first Oxford shop and to play a role at Westgate Oxford, which is set to become a spectacular retail and leisure landmark in this iconic city. I began my own career with this business and I can’t wait to start building a fantastic team of new Partners to deliver the outstanding customer service that John Lewis is known for.’
John Lewis Oxford will begin accepting job applications for Section Managers in April and other roles to follow. John Lewis Oxford will open alongside other shops at the £440m Westgate Oxford development on 24 October 2017.
Notes to editors
John Lewis – John Lewis operates 48 John Lewis shops across the UK (34 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. It is part of the John Lewis Partnership, the UK’s largest example of worker co-ownership and all 30,000 John Lewis staff are Partners in the business.
John Lewis stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department store and johnlewis.com across fashion, home and technology, and was named ‘Best In-Store Experience’, ‘Best Clothing Retailer,’ ‘Best Electricals Retailer,’ ‘Best Furniture Retailer,’ ‘Best Homewares Retailer’ and ‘Best Click & Collect Retailer’ in the 2016 Verdict Customer Satisfaction awards.
Johnlewis.com is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK. John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products – home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover – delivering the values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.
You can follow John Lewis on the following social media channels:
www.johnlewis.com/twitter
www.johnlewis.com/facebook
www.johnlewis.com/youtube.
Contact:
Elli Share
Communications Officer Corporate
Telephone: 020 7798 3145
Email: elli.share@johnlewis.co.uk
Source: John Lewis