John Lewis To Offer Botox

High Street stalwart John Lewis has announced it’s going to start offering non-surgical aesthetic treatments. After a successful pilot in limited locations, it’s now decided to roll it out to other stores across the UK.

Medical Aesthetics

John Lewis is to work in partnership with The Cavendish Clinic, so it will be medics who perform the treatments (phew) which are limited to over 25s and as you’d expect, be subject to the full consultation process.

Of course, John Lewis isn’t the first high street shop to venture into cosmetic treatments, but it is perhaps the first high street shop that feels ‘grown up’ to offer them. They said: “We know there’s increasing awareness and demand among consumers for advanced beauty treatments and after careful consideration, we were keen to collaborate with a trusted, medical clinic brand which would deliver this service. I think there will be a bit of a murmur about it. But our competitors are already offering it so, in a way, we’re following them. But we’re doing it in our own way.’ ’

Trust Factor

John Lewis is not only one of the most trusted UK retailers, it is also one of the country’s most trusted brands and that trust has translated into customer loyalty.

It therefore makes this move really interesting as what’s the number one concern among the public regarding aesthetic treatments? Trust. It’s a pretty smart strategic move for John Lewis. There will be people who will be nervous about going into a clinic for the first time but they will be less nervous about going to John Lewis. Perhaps even complacent, ‘Oh it must be fine, it’s John Lewis, they wouldn’t do anything wrong.’

Hands up if you’re coming to John Lewis after class to get some Botox.

Normalising Treatments

The target market of John Lewis is the upper, middle class and main age range is 30 to 40 however it is begun to move toward a younger demographic, as evidenced by the launch of its ‘Anyday’ range

There’s enough patients in any location that John Lewis’s expansion into aesthetics doesn’t pose a competitive threat. Indeed, it is likely to have a beneficial impact and position aesthetic treatments positively among a core target market. They have more disposable income, are well educated, and socially mobile and probably keen to explore aesthetic treatments but just need a little reassurance. John Lewis is established, respected and trusted and by virtue of the fact it’s even offering these treatments it subconsciously positions the treatments as safe, ‘middle class’ and, in a way, a somewhat ordinary thing to do.

Dr Matt James, founder of The Cavendish Clinic said:

‘The industry has been moving so quickly and it’s relatively unregulated. I think that lack of regulation has impacted upon the ability to deliver the trust that everyone is after. But people trust John Lewis and we’ve been delivering these treatments for a long time, using full-trained doctors. So this is a huge step for the trust side of things. You need trained people who offer a spectrum of treatments, not just somebody doing it in a hairdressers.’

Good Times

We want people to know that non-surgical aesthetic treatments (when conducted safely) can be life-changing and we want to smash the stigma and challenge the misconceptions and misinformation that surrounds the industry. It’s always going to be about personal choice but essentially by being able to get your crows feet sorted while browsing coffee tables, it will make advanced aesthetic treatments feel more accessible. it also increases access to medically-qualified practitioners, which is clearly a good thing!