As part of its strategy to expand beyond shops and online into new and enhanced services, John Lewis & Partners has announced its plan to bring its two home improvement services businesses, Home Solutions and Opun, together as it progresses with its ambition to create a truly differentiated home improvement offer.
The plans are in line with John Lewis & Partners’ ambition to enhance their Home Services offer and extend into home improvement. By creating a 21st century Home Improvement proposition in what is currently a fragmented sector, customers will benefit from an end-to-end home improvement service, which includes inspiration, design, project management and execution.
Home Solutions allows customers to source and book trusted tradespeople for a range of home improvement services. It currently operates within JLP Ventures, a team within the John Lewis Partnership that develops new customer propositions for John Lewis and Waitrose. Home Solutions is steadily rolling out across the country and is about to expand its coverage to Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent in the coming weeks.
Opun, which manages large scale home improvement projects, was acquired by the John Lewis Partnership in June 2018 and has been operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Since the acquisition, Opun has been focusing on refining its business model, strengthening its team and developing its service technology, while continuing to deliver high quality home improvement projects.
This change will bring both businesses together within the Services directorate of John Lewis & Partners, capitalising on the complementary capabilities in each.
Sean Allam, Partner & Director, Services, at John Lewis & Partners said:
“Last year’s acquisition of Opun demonstrated our ambition in the home services market and today’s announcement marks a critical next step as we look to strengthen and grow our services business. Bringing the teams together is an exciting opportunity to work collaboratively, share knowledge and collectively learn in the fast-paced home improvement market and create opportunities for growth.”
Rod Brown, co-founder of Opun, said:
“Joining the John Lewis Partnership has been an exciting move for Opun, especially now we are combining with Home Solutions. We know the two businesses stand for the same values – putting customers first and delivering a world class service. We know there are great opportunities which exist in the home improvement market so it’s exciting to be stepping into the next phase as one business.”