Andy Street, boss of department store John Lewis has reported that it plans to knock popular Swedish furniture retailer, Ikea off the homewear top spot in the next four years after its £14 million investment in refurbishing the Oxford Street branch.
Commenting, Mr Street said: “If you look at the trading results for the last five years, ever since the recession really, we have gained market share significantly.
“Now we are clearly second in the market behind Ikea – and clearly first in lots of categories – but we will overtake Ikea. I am not sure exactly when, but I am more than happy to predict it will be within the next four years, at the pace we are closing the gap at the moment.”
Conlumino, a retail consultancy, released figures predicting that Ikea will achieve 6% sales this year in furniture, flooring and homeware, and John Lewis will achieve 5.8%.
The new department at the flagship store will include a service that will allow customers to put furniture and design carpets into virtual rooms of their house. This will open next week, with Mr Street claiming it will make John Lewis the “best in the world”.
Mr Street added: “We have always said we have a nice balance between home, fashion and technology, but if we are really honest the area that John Lewis is most famous for is home. I always say home is where the heart is for this business.”
