John Lewis is a chain of department stores in the UK which, alongside grocery stablemate Waitrose, forms the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership.
John Lewis was formed in 1846 when its eponymous founder opened a drapery shop on Oxford Street. In 1906, Lewis bought a controlling stake in the famous Sloane Square store, Peter Jones, which it still operates today.
By 1914, Lewis appointed his son, John Spedan Lewis, as chair of Peter Jones and the foundations for the John Lewis business we know today were laid. Spedan Lewis created the “never knowingly undersold” pledge, and made early moves to establish the partnership model, paying staff based on turnover and launching a fortnightly newspaper to keep workers informed about the retailer’s performance.
In the 1930s, John Lewis expanded, buying businesses including Jessop & Son and Tyrrell & Green, but did not rebrand them all to John Lewis until the early 2000s as it sought to establish a nationally recognised brand.
But the business has been challenged since the turn of the millennium, with profits falling and its much vaunted partnership bonus - paid to all staff - being scrapped in 2020 for the first time since 1953.
John Lewis is launching Randox Health clinics in store to enable customers to benefit from preventative healthcare services.
John Lewis’ new Christmas advert for 2023 “celebrates the joy” of both classic and changing Christmas traditions, with a soundtrack voiced by tenor Andrea Bocelli and the introduction of a new, unconventional character.
John Lewis has been criticised for building “executive housing” after stating that as little as 10% of the flats in its new London development could be affordable.
John Lewis has turned to Tesco to recruit a new head of brand and store experience.
John Lewis Partnership has named current interim Royal Mail corporate finance director Martin Gafsen as its new director of property.
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