Horsham Opening

On the 26th July 2015, The Gazette (The Partnership’s in-house magazine) reported the following:

One team under one roof – that’s how the Partners at John Lewis at home and Waitrose Horsham see themselves. The new co-located stores opened in West Sussex last week and are the ‘most joined up’ Partnership stores to date, says Property Services’ Matthew Blanks, the result of close collaboration between many teams from all over the business. The two stores share back of house space, including offices, training rooms, locker rooms and a Partners Dining Room, plus a 150-cover mezzanine cafe, a 400-space car park and a bright, expansive atrium that links them together.

The new stores are the second co-located John Lewis at home and Waitrose branches to open – the first, at Ipswich, opened in autumn 2012 – and another joint development is set to open at Basingstoke later this year. For Nigel Davis and Jo Thomas, Branch Managers of John Lewis at home and Waitrose Horsham respectively, it’s a chance for their teams to pioneer new ways of working – and share the opportunities and rewards that being co-located offers them.

“While our separate divisions have different priorities, in Horsham we represent the whole Partnership, sharing the behaviours and commitments as co-owners,” says Jo. “For us, the journey starts now for our Partners and we want to be like one big team under one roof.”

John Lewis’ Director, Store Development Tim Harrison agrees: “It’s a great opportunity for co-locating our brands, after Ipswich has been such a success. To be able to do it again in such a great location is really exciting.”