London 2012 set to announce John Lewis as official sponsor

LONDON 2012 are set to announce John Lewis as the latest addition to their fleet of sponsors, according to media reports.

ON BOARD: John Lewis have been a long-time supporter of London 2012's Olympic bid, now the company have become an official sponsor of the Games

John Lewis will be named the 'official retail store' and will be responsible for a string of Olympic shops, expected to open in key locations across the United Kingdom.

John Lewis has 29 UK stores and will be a £50 million flagship tenant in the new Westfield Stratford City complex, which is expected to open next year in a site adjacent to the Olympic Park in east London.

The company, which also owns supermarket Waitrose and has regularly been voted Britain's favourite shop, has an established relationship with London 2012 going back five years.

They were a champion supporter of the bid team, running their ‘Back the bid' slogan across their entire distribution fleet and through its John Lewis stores and Waitrose supermarkets. 

Locog officials have been praised by the International Olympic Committee for their strategy in raising sponsorship funds, despite the global economic slowdown.

John Lewis are the 25th sponsor to sign on the dotted line, with Locog chief executive Paul Deighton increasingly confident his commercial team, led by Chris Townsend, will beat their already upscaled sponsorship target of £700 million.