The new London 2012 shops will showcase up to 3,000 official London 2012 products and give customers across the UK access to official Olympic and Paralympic merchandise.
The occasion was marked at John Lewis Oxford Street with a visit from London 2012 Chairman Sebastian Coe and around the country John Lewis Partners (staff) and customers will be celebrating the launch with a variety of activities, mascot appearances and competitions. Shoppers will also get the chance to ride a specially designed pedal-powered Team GB Scalextric Velodrome set in selected stores to celebrate the openings.
LOCOG Chair Seb Coe commented:
"These new London 2012 shops are a great opportunity for people across the UK to show their support for the London 2012 Games and for Team GB and Paralympics GB."
In addition to the nationwide roll-out, John Lewis has also expanded the size of its Oxford Street London 2012 Shop. Covering over 6,000 sq ft the shop is now the largest official London 2012 Shop to date offering customers the widest range of Olympic and Paralympic Games merchandise.
Peter Ruis, Buying and Brand Director, John Lewis said:
“We are delighted to further our support of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with the roll-out of official shops in each of our branches. We have seen strong sales of London 2012 merchandise in our existing London 2012 shops and with the 100 days to go milestone just around the corner, excitement towards the Games is definitely building.”
Top selling London 2012 merchandise:
- London 2012 Olympic Games British Icons Routemaster, Red - £10
- London 2012 Olympic Games Lenticular Tumbler, Pictogram - £23
- London 2012 Olympic Games Union Jack Mascot Mug - £54
- London 2012 Olympic Games Keyring, Union Jack - £6
- London 2012 Olympic Games Mascot, Wenlock, 20cm - £9.95
- London 2012 Olympic Games Union Jack Gymsack, Navy/red/white - £5.60
- London 2012 Olympic Games Pictogram Mug - £6
- London 2012 Olympic Games Lenticular Tumbler - £2
- London 2012 Olympic Games Wristbands, Multi, Set of 4 - £5
- London 2012 Olympic Games Logo Pin Badge, Medium, Union Jack - £6
Please note: The prices above are correct on date of press release issue. The top ten list is compiled based on our best selling London 2012 product for the trading year to date. Images of the products listed above, available upon request.
Notes to Editors:
The John Lewis Partnership - The John Lewis Partnership operates 36 John Lewis shops across the UK (29 department stores and seven John Lewis at home), johnlewis.com and 264 Waitrose supermarkets. The business has an annual turnover of nearly £8.7bn. It is the UK's largest example of worker co-ownership where all 81,000 staff are Partners in the business.
John Lewis - John Lewis, 'Britain's favourite retailer 2010'* and 'Multiple Department Store of the Year 2010' ** typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department stores. The website stocks over 200,000 products focused on the best of fashion, beauty, home and giftware and electrical items including online exclusives. johnlewis.com is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK (www.johnlewis.com ). John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products - home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover - delivering the usual values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.
* Verdict consumer satisfaction index, January 2011
** The Drapers Awards for fashion retail, November 2010
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