John Lewis Partnership is always thought of as one big happy family, however, there is certainly some sibling rivalry between its two businesses.

At John Lewis Partnership’s grand unveiling of its employee bonus on Wednesday, Checkout overheard one department store partner asking why their Waitrose colleagues got to stand so close to the action when the 14% figure was revealed.

“Shut up,” replied one of his work mates. “We wouldn’t even be getting a bonus if it wasn’t for them.”