{"slug": "john-lewis-eyes-sport-and-fitness-growth-with-multimillion-pound-investment", "title": "John Lewis eyes sport and fitness growth with multimillion-pound investment", "summary": "John Lewis has relaunched its sports and wellbeing offer with a multimillion-pound investment, making it the first UK retailer to combine sportswear, footwear, wearable technology, recovery, AI-powered fitness, and expert services in one location. The investment, part of an £800 million cash injection into its 36 stores, has already transformed its Oxford Street site and will fund redevelopments in Liverpool, Cheadle, and Glasgow. Managing director Peter Ruis called the relaunch an 'important step' in the company's store investment plan.", "body_md": "# John Lewis eyes sport and fitness growth with multimillion-pound investment\n\n## Boss Peter Ruis said the relaunch is an ‘important step’ in a major store investment plan.\n\n- Bookmark\n\n[John Lewis](/topic/john-lewis) is hoping to take advantage of the fitness boom among shoppers by relaunching its sports and wellbeing offer.\n\nBoss Peter Ruis said the relaunch is an “important step” in its major store investment plan.\n\nThe department store business, which is part of the [John Lewis Partnership](/topic/john-lewis-partnership) group, said its new sports and wellbeing departments will make it the first UK retailer to bring sportswear, footwear, wearable technology, recovery, AI-powered fitness and expert services together in one location.\n\nThe move will help the retailer take on major players in sportswear, such as [Sports Direct](/topic/sports-direct), as well as technology specialists.\n\nThe multimillion-pound investment has already transformed the sports department in its London [Oxford Street](/topic/oxford-street) site.\n\nIt will also fund similar redevelopments in Liverpool and Cheadle, as well as a new department in its [Glasgow](/topic/glasgow) shop.\n\nThe departments will be up to around 5,000 square feet and have been designed so shoppers can move easily between apparel, footwear, technology, home fitness and recovery.\n\nThe concept will include sports brands including Nike, Brooks and Patagonia alongside wearable technology from Garmin, Oura and Whoop, recovery products from Therabody, and premium home fitness equipment from Peloton, NordicTrack and Speediance.\n\nShoppers will also be able to use free gait analysis and other technology to help them find the right footwear and other products.\n\nThe investment is part of a £800 million cash injection from John Lewis into its 36 stores across the UK.\n\nMr Ruis, managing director of John Lewis, said: “Customers increasingly shop around a goal rather than a traditional retail category. Whether someone’s training for their first marathon, taking up Hyrox or simply looking to live a healthier lifestyle, they want everything they need in one place.\n\n“Our combination of leading brands, expert partners, nationwide shops and strong digital offer means we’re uniquely placed to support customers across every part of their fitness journey – from finding the right footwear and technical clothing to discovering the latest wearable technology, home fitness and recovery products.”", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/john-lewis-eyes-sport-and-fitness-growth-with-multimillion-pound-investment", "canonical_source": "https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/john-lewis-john-lewis-partnership-sports-direct-oxford-street-glasgow-b3026137.html", "published_at": "2026-08-02 23:01:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-03 00:02:59.835582+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-products"], "entities": ["John Lewis", "John Lewis Partnership", "Peter Ruis", "Sports Direct", "Oxford Street", "Nike", "Brooks", "Patagonia"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/john-lewis-eyes-sport-and-fitness-growth-with-multimillion-pound-investment", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/john-lewis-eyes-sport-and-fitness-growth-with-multimillion-pound-investment.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/john-lewis-eyes-sport-and-fitness-growth-with-multimillion-pound-investment.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/john-lewis-eyes-sport-and-fitness-growth-with-multimillion-pound-investment.jsonld"}}