John Lewis launches National Treasures, a summer celebration of the UK’s favourite things
John Lewis will be celebrating the UK’s favourite things, pastimes and quirks as part of its new summer campaign. Elements will include the ‘Summer Season’ which will be the retailer’s biggest and most interactive programme of activity to date.
Working with 100 British brands, the programme will include interactive masterclasses, seminars, Q&A’s and workshops taking place in shops nationwide.
The campaign will run until 20 August.
Peter Cross, director, customer experience at John Lewis, explained: “There’s nothing quite like the Great British summer. While we may be a nation of shoppers, pet-lovers and tea-drinkers all year round, there’s something about the summer that makes everything a bit more special. It’s the time when ice creams by the seaside, long afternoons in packed-out parks and grabbing an umbrella (just in case) become our national pastimes. In fact, we’d go so far as to call them our national treasures. That’s why John Lewis has put together a programme of special events and experiences in collaboration with your best-loved home-grown brands. All of our favourite things. All summer long.”
In a first for John Lewis, windows and shop interiors will be transformed by illustrator Pauk Thurlby who has worked alongside the John Lewis design teams to create a collection of illustrations that epitomise the UK’s best loved customs, spaces, places, people and habits. In addition, 220 life size characters will be a central feature in the John Lewis Oxford Street atrium.
Examples of events due to take place include scent discovery workshops with Neom founder Nicola Elliott, interactive wellbeing workshops from Manuka Lifestyle and Liz Earle, creative BBQ masterclasses with Weber and print design workshops with designer Laura Slater.
In addition, a National Treasury pop-up shop will be open in each full-line John Lewis department store, showcasing a curated collection of products. John Lewis said the fullscale greenhouses will be a multisensory experience, brought to life with lifesize national treasures illustrations exhibiting best-selling products from British brands such as Mulberry, Hunter, Dyson, Tom Dixon, Dualit, Wedgwood and Dartington.
A collection of limited edition gifts that celebrate Thurlby’s national treasure illustrations will also be available.
In addition, visitors to the John Lewis Gardening Society rooftop will be able to enjoy an ice cold beverage served from the new Gardeners Arms pub. Opening for it’s second summer, the Gardening Society will offer customers the opportunity to reserve a ‘summer house’ complete with private herb and flower garden and outdoor seating or the larger ‘pavilion’ to indulge in British-inspired food and drinks.
There will also be an exclusive Wedgwood Tea Conservatory at the retailer’s Peter Jones store in London which will run for three weeks from 24 May within the ground floor atrium space.
Cross added: “As a Partnership, we wanted to create an integrated campaign that celebrates those iconic moments and traditions that make us who we are as a nation.
“We’ve come together with some of the country’s best brands and most talented national treasures to bring what we believe to be a collection of truly inspiring, immersive, interesting and innovative experiences to our customers across the country. Customers will be able to visit our shops and leave having learnt, laughed at, tried and tasted some of our nation’s absolute favourite things, which we know our customers love.”
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