This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 5, 2016.

IN 1864, a man named John Lewis opened a small drapery shop he named after himself in Oxford Street, London, selling fabrics, lace, silks, threads and ribbons. It was the era when Queen Victoria was famously dressing only in black, mourning the death of her beloved Prince Albert in 1861. For the next 40 years, Victorian London would follow the Queen’s example, demanding quality fabrics in every shade of black. Lewis made his fortune stocking over 50 shades of black silk to meet the demands of these fashion-conscious Londoners, creating a retail empire in the process.

Today, over 150 years later, the John Lewis brand has extended its reach around the world with 46 shops across the United Kingdom, dozens more within department stores in South Korea and the Philippines, as well as an online store that offers delivery to a staggering 32 countries worldwide. Rooted in its heritage, John Lewis’ in-house design team blends old and new styles by working with established and emerging designers from around the world to create distinctive and contemporary products for home. In fact, the company is responsible for creating some of the most iconic prints of the century, the most famous one being the daisy chain, which has been sold over 2 million metres to date.

Design has been the heart of John Lewis since the very beginning — in 1930, the retailer opened a design studio specialising in textiles, and in 1960, it appointed Britain’s most celebrated design couple, Robin and Lucien Day, as design consultants. In 2013, they opened a heritage centre that holds over 30,000 unique John Lewis prints, including the fabric produced by Stead McAplin for the state rooms in the Titanic.

The company also holds three Royal Warrants: the Oxford Street store was awarded one by Her Majesty the Queen as suppliers of haberdashery and household goods, and John Lewis Reading as suppliers of haberdashery and fancy goods. Its subsidiary, the Peter Jones shop in London, holds Royal Warrants from His Royal Highness (HRH) the Duke of Edinburgh and HRH the Prince of Wales as draper and furnisher.

The British royal family is perhaps John Lewis’ most famous customers, as the company has created and supplied household goods, haberdashery, drapery and furnishings to the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. The full line department stores typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines across categories such as homewares, fashion, beauty, children’s wear, toys and electrical appliances.

Now, John Lewis, which is also the UK’s largest department store retailer, has partnered exclusively with Robinsons to bring the brand into the Malaysian market for the very first time. The shop-in-shop is located in Robinsons at The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley. It showcases a range of over 500 own-brand home products including bed and bath items, tableware and home accessories such as candles and photo frames; as well as duvets and pillows — all of which have been made at the John Lewis-owned Herbert Parkinson factory in Lancashire, UK.

This partnership with Robinsons builds on the success of John Lewis’s existing outlets in

seven branches of South Korean department store

Shinsegae, and 11 branches of SM department stores and Our Home stores in the Philippines. The brand has already partnered with Robinsons Singapore with great success, and plans to continue their expansion in the international market through cooperation with existing departmental stores.  

“We are extremely thrilled to collaborate with John Lewis, a heritage brand that shares many similarities with Robinsons, such as bringing affordable luxury to customers. With over 150 years of history each, we are established household brands trusted and loved by generations of customers. John Lewis Home & Living is a perfect complement to our carefully curated home and lifestyle departments, and we are confident this addition will delight our home-proud customers with more inspirations and options,” said Christophe Cann, managing director of the Robinsons Group.

Now, Malaysians can enjoy a wide range of refined and tasteful merchandise from John Lewis, starting from RM59 for an Egyptian cotton towel to RM666 for luxurious bedlinen — and a variety of price points in between.

The John Lewis Home & Living collection is now available at Robinsons, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur. For more information, visit www.johnlewis.com.