Set to open their Leeds store late 2016, John Lewis recently announced that Leeds resident, James Prince will become head of branch.
John Lewis recently announced that James Prince will become head of branch at its department store in Leeds, set to open autumn 2016. John Lewis will invest £37 million in the 255,000 sq ft department store, which will be one of the largest outside London.
James will lead the team of 550 staff at Leeds, the recruitment of which will begin in the next few months. He is currently head of branch at John Lewis Sheffield, but has lived in Leeds for the past four years. He started his John Lewis career eight years ago as an operations manager at John Lewis Liverpool, and prior to his current role he opened the first John Lewis at Home shop in Poole as the Branch Manager.
The retailer will be the anchor tenant of the Victoria Gate development in Leeds’ Victoria Quarter. The four storey department store frames the scheme and is a major entrance to Leeds’ retail core from the eastern side. Unique to John Lewis Leeds, the striking design of the shop heralds a future architectural classic for the city.
James said: “I’m delighted to be taking on this new challenge and look forward to establishing our shop in the centre of Leeds and in the heart of the local community.
I have enjoyed my time in Sheffield, particularly working with the team based here who are a credit to the store. I have also valued being involved in city initiatives such as the Sheffield BID.
Leeds is my home and I’m incredibly passionate about this city. I can’t wait to recruit a new team of Partners and reveal the shop to our customers in the autumn of 2016.”
John Lewis Leeds will be the third John Lewis to open in Yorkshire.