Al-Futtaim to bring John Lewis to the Middle East

UAE-based retail conglomerate Al-Futtaim and John Lewis have signed a wholesale agreement that will see the launch of the renowned British upmarket department store in the region.

Spanning 15,000 sqft, John Lewis’ home department – the UK retailer’s largest overseas shop-in-shop – will spearhead Al-Futtaim’s Dubai Festival City Mall’s new flagship Robinsons store scheduled for a spring 2017 opening.

At its Robinson’s shop-in-shop, John Lewis will be doubling its product assortment compared to its existing international collaborations offering Dubai Festival City Mall’s shoppers its label furniture, cookware, textiles, glassware and nursery products in addition to the retailer’s household bed, bath, living and gifting assortments.

“Al-Futtaim’s solid regional retail infrastructure, know-how and reputation seamlessly blend with John Lewis’ global appeal as a renowned retailer in a long-awaited exclusive partnership designed to offer discerning UAE consumers even more choice and options,” says Paul Delaoutre, president, Al-Futtaim Retail.

“At Al-Futtaim we are creating an unparalleled portfolio of brands and shopping experiences to cater for the different needs and tastes of the region’s diverse consumer base and our latest entrepreneurial venture with John Lewis is testament in our ability to create and deliver bespoke win-win retail concepts with best-in-class partners.”

The look and feel of the new shop-in-shop will be designed by John Lewis’ store design team in collaboration with Al-Futtaim and Robinsons.

“We’re delighted to be working with Robinsons again on two new ventures. The success of our existing international shop-in-shops has given us the confidence to open in the Middle East and increase both the scale of the space and product assortment. This is an exciting time for Al Futtaim’s Dubai Festival City Mall and we’re pleased that John Lewis will be a part of the next phase of its redevelopment,” adds John Lewis managing director Andy Street.

Al-Futtaim and John Lewis have also agreed to further extend their existing partnership with Robinsons currently limited in Singapore, by exporting the concept to neighbouring Malaysia with next month’s opening of a 630 sqft John Lewis shop-in-shop at Robinson’s Kuala Lumpur store.