John Lewis is partnering with Randox Health to introduce clinics within its stores as part of a drive to add extra services to draw in shoppers amid the tough trading conditions.
The clinics will offer health checks, including tests for vitamin deficiencies, hormone imbalances and other key health issues.
The first clinic, which will be run by Randox staff, will launch in John Lewis’s High Wycombe store on 18 December. Further openings will follow at stores in Bluewater shopping centre in Kent in December and Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in January.
Randox Health currently has more than 20 of its own clinics around the UK.
Naomi Simcock, the head of the John Lewis chain, said: “As trusted stores for local communities across the country, we can play an important role by making services like healthcare and wellness more convenient and accessible.
“In Randox, we have an experienced and innovative partner to extend our range of in-store services to help customers proactively manage their health and wellbeing.”
Following the shift to online shopping and working from home, John Lewis’s current turnaround plan includes increasing the services it offers to tempt shoppers back to its outlets on high streets and in shopping centres. The department store retailer already hosts opticians, travel agents, beauty treatments and personal shopping services.
In its first-half results released in September, the group noted that sales in its physical shops had started to improve, driven by increased footfall.
NAM Implications:
- Health services are patently a no-brainer.
- Key idea is that service suppliers of all types should think about the feasibility of utilising John Lewis sites…
- …and approach the retailer…
- …hopefully gaining the innovator’s advantage over rivals.
