John Lewis goes direct with £30m ecommerce project

John Lewis, the never knowingly undersold high-street retailer, has today unveiled an online direct selling arm and a revamped website.

Incorporating the UK operations of buy.com, which it acquired last February from the dot-com's ailing US parent company, http://www.johnlewis.com marks the UK outfit's first foray into direct selling.

John Lewis's well-known maxim that it is never knowingly undersold will not apply to the service however, due to the stiff competition faced on the web.

Over 5,000 products will be available on the site at launch, including shower curtains, tables, chairs, milk frothers, microwaves and fitness bikes.

The new ecommerce service replaces a limited online offer called John Lewis Now.

John Lewis will invest £30m over four years - by which time it hopes the site will be profitable.

Luke Mayhew, managing director of John Lewis Department Stores, said in a statement: "This marks an important step by John Lewis into multi-channel retailing. It is a significant investment for the Partnership, and is an integral part of our strategy as a full range department store and market leader. We are confident about the long term potential of John Lewis Direct."

Digital fulfillment provider IForce will handle warehousing, gift wrapping, packing, distribution, and returns management of all goods.

ClientLogic, a global multi-channel customer management business, will be handling all customer service, by phone, email and fax in its Exeter based call centre.

The John Lewis Partnership operates 26 department stores across the UK and 136 Waitrose supermarkets and has a turnover of over £4bn.

silicon.com also runs an ecommerce site in association with buy.com. See http://www.silicon-shop.com for everything from staples to servers...