Today, 'John Lewis at home' opens on the Purley Way in Croydon - just in time for the August bank holiday weekend. 

'John Lewis at home' Croydon is the second branch of the retailer’s new 'at home' format, which focuses exclusively on furniture, furnishing accessories, homeware, electronics and home technology. 

Following the successful opening of the first 'John Lewis at home' in Poole last October, the retailer believes there are at least 30 locations, if not more, across the UK which could support an ‘at home’ outlet. An additional two John Lewis 'at home' shops are scheduled to open in Swindon and Tunbridge Wells in autumn this year, taking the total number of ‘at home’ branches to four. 

Tim Harrison, Head of Format Development, John Lewis, said: “We are thrilled to be opening in Croydon today. The assortment is varied and extensive enough to furnish every room in the house and like our full line department stores, 'John Lewis at home' offers a differentiated service, inspiring products and great value. 

“'John Lewis at home' in Poole has proved that a smaller format works and has been very well received by customers for its convenient access and shopping ease. Our Croydon shop was completed in less than six months and to do this in such a short period of time demonstrates that John Lewis has the ability to move at pace with our ‘at home’ format.” 

The new 'John Lewis at home' Croydon shop spans 40,000sq ft and includes a café among other customer benefits. Computer kiosks in the branch allow shoppers to browse the wider John Lewis assortment including fashion, beauty and nursery which can be ordered for home delivery or next day collection at the shop. 

Tim continues: “We’ll continue to trial our 'John Lewis at home' format in 2010, as we believe that with this new, accessible format there is a really strong opportunity to grow our business in the home and electricals sector and offer them to a wider customer base. We are confident that these smaller format shops will serve our customers well by giving them convenient access to John Lewis products. We have also shown our ability to deliver a high level of customer service in a smaller format, which is the ultimate test.” 

The ‘at home’ format responds directly to market research, conducted by John Lewis, which revealed that consumers from all over the UK wanted to be able to shop at a John Lewis branch within a 40 minute journey from their home.