John Lewis, the refuge for the middle class on the high street, is desperately trying to attract a younger clientele into its stores. With the creation of ranges such as ‘Everyday’, its more budget friendly own-brand range, it's starting to tread on Ikea’s toes.
Surprisingly, the retailer is now moving into property development – turning an old warehouse in Reading into over 200 apartments, all done as the increasingly popular ‘build to rent’. They’ll look to own, manage, and presumably furnish them to some extent (if not fully), giving them access to both a new stable recurring revenue stream and with the option of selling it off if they need a lump sum. It also gives them great exposure to a younger audience, hopefully enticing them into the John Lewis lifestyle at an earlier stage in life which they’ll carry forward with them.
It’s a far more creative (and probably lucrative) route than the traditional approach of just selling the land off. It also acts as a kind of ‘try before you buy’ for a lot of the tenants who may be experiencing John Lewis for the first time. And it gives great potential for content (such as social) and product feedback for development. A really smart way to make good use of unused real estate.
— Know your audience
