From 2018 Matt was accountable for leading the talented John Lewis in-house store design teams. Whilst many projects were highly aspirational category roll-outs, show stopping windows and a-list branded areas, he also spearheaded the development and execution of many highly disruptive in-store experiences. Combining his joyfully bold creative direction in partnership with the ambitious customer experience team Matt and his in house creative team in collaboration with external design agencies, set about landing the new experiences at pace. These ranged from a complete reinvented ‘editorially’ led Menswear fashion experience to an all new immersive beauty service area named the Beauty Society and not forgetting numerous Christmas campaign executions (including Elton John’s childhood living room). The creative direction was centred around not only bolder more impactful store design and modern styled merchandising, but also a bigger focus on the 360 experience from smell, lighting, materiality, digital activation and theatre type reveals. These concepts paved the way for a more expressive and immersive John Lewis in-store experience you see today. Leveraging the famous John Lewis partner expertise and customer service with aspirational store design and exceptional product presentation.

CREDITS: John In-house store design and creative teams led by Matt Lake and Ben Philips. External retail execution agencies The Yard and various.