John Lewis unveils new look Oxford Street store as it shelves plans to convert much of flagship into offices

John Lewis executive director Peter Ruis in Beauty department at John Lewis Oxford Street - (John Lewis)

John Lewis has shelved radical plans to convert almost half the floor space in its Oxford Street flagship into offices after in-store shopping bounced back more strongly than expected after the pandemic.

The department store group won planning permission from Westminster council four years ago for a massive upheaval of the store that could have seen up to three floors of retail trading space, 45% of the total, turned into offices, raising £150 million.