JOHN Lewis' Buchanan Galleries store will look "dramatically different" once its planned extension and refurbishment are complete, and it expects very strong Christmas trading, with yesterday's Black Friday event proving to be a growing draw for customers.
That is according to Isabella Miller, who has headed the branch and its 565-strong workforce since August this year.
She also believes the US import of the discount retailing day known as Black Friday has been embraced by shoppers here. "It has just grown and grown," she said, adding yesterday that there had been a "great buzz" in-store, with a lot of preparation having taken place and the store opening at 8am.
The retailer said that between midnight and 6am yesterday, traffic to johnlewis.com was up 307 per cent on Black Friday last year.
Johnathan Marsh, buying director, electricals and home technology for John Lewis, said the day was now a "special event" for its customers.
Praising Glasgow as a retail destination, Mrs Miller said the plan to extend the Galleries centre "is only going to make it better," broadening the range of brands available in the city.
Developer Land Securities, which took full control of Buchanan Galleries in October in a £137.5 million deal, has submitted a thorough planning application backing the proposed expansion, which is believed to be set for review in the new year.
If successful, the updated centre will span 1.2 million sq ft, up by 700,000 sq ft, to include a cinema. It will be anchored both by the reconfigured 300,000 sq ft John Lewis as well as a flagship 150,000 sq ft Marks & Spencer. Mrs Miller noted that a decision was imminent, and said she was excited about the plans. "John Lewis is very committed, and obviously personally it was one of my reasons for coming here... who wouldn't want to come and run a redeveloped store?"
The Glasgow John Lewis store opened in 1999 and Mrs Miller said it has aged well. "I think the shop does look great," she added, "but obviously to have the opportunity to have redevelopment within the shop, and within the centre as well, to make what's already great even better, will be very exciting."
Plans to redevelop the store comprise changes throughout, she said, explaining: "What it will enable us to do is to update throughout the shop and to get more and better brands in."
She said the expansion will allow for a "refresh" along the lines of newer John Lewis stores, and said: "Obviously the redevelopment will have an impact but it'll be good in the longer term. It will cause some disruption along the way but I think everybody will see that as a good thing ... and we'll have a much better shop at the end."
Earlier this month, the retailer said in its Christmas barometer statement that its sales in the week ending November 15 reached £108.8m, up by 7.2 per cent from last year. Online sales were up by 15 per cent year on year.
Mrs Miller noted that last year, Black Friday became John Lewis' biggest online day and she said that this year, after the "huge peak" of the day, sales would build back up again in the run-up to December 25. "We're expecting a really good Christmas, but we're not complacent," she stated. "Looking ahead, I wouldn't want to be over-bullish but I don't see any reason why we couldn't continue to see steady growth."
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