THE newly-appointed managing director of John Lewis’s Liverpool One store is determined to use the retailer’s brand to help drive the profile of the city’s retail sector.

Dan Cooke has started at the department store after a career that has taken in Debenhams, Peacocks – where he was area director for Merseyside – and most recently Blacks Leisure.

“John Lewis is a key store for Liverpool,” said Mr Cooke. “It’s a big department store so it should be a destination, but it also needs to be fully integrated within Liverpool One.

“Liverpool One’s management seems to be forward-thinking – we will be looking at how we can help each other.”

He added: “The transformation of the city over the past few years and the relocation of John Lewis to Liverpool One have established the city’s reputation as a world class shopping destination. I am proud to be joining it.”

Mr Cooke takes charge during a tricky period of trading at the retailer, which is often described as a bellwether of middle-class spending.

Its Liverpool One store has had three consecutive quarters of like-for-like sales falls, with sluggish sales since October resulting in just seven of the last 31 weeks showing an improvement.

Despite the store having been open for three years, trading patterns have been slow to emerge with significant upward or downward pressure on sales arising from Capital of Culture year, the credit crunch-turned-recession and public spending cuts.

He said: “Everyone recognises it was going to be a challenging year but it’s too early to say where we are going to be later in the year. ‘Cautious’ is the right word to use, you can’t rest on your laurels.”

Mr Cooke’s appointment was welcomed by David Barford, John Lewis’s director of selling operations.

He said: “We’re always delighted when our Partners take on new challenges and I’ve no doubt Dan will excel in this role.

“His years of retail experience and outstanding record of achievement prior to joining John Lewis will bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the role, making him ideally suited to leading and growing our business in Liverpool.”