British department store group John Lewis plans to open seven shop-in-shops in the Netherlands, selling soft furnishings, linen and gifts via the Dutch Bijenkorf department stores.

They will be the first outlets for John Lewis in continental Europe. The company has 45 branches throughout Britain and 18 in Singapore, South Korea and the Philippines.

The first shop-in-shops will open in spring 2016 in the Bijenkorf stores in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Eindhoven and Utrecht will follow at the end of the year and Amstelveen and Maastricht in 2017.

British department store group Marks & Spencer recently announced it was closing its food outlets at six BP petrol stations because of disappointing sales. The company has a flagship store in the centre of The Hague and a small food shop in Amsterdam.

M&S will also open a 6,100 square metre flagship store on the Rokin in Amsterdam in 2016, a year later than originally planned.