John Lewis is embarking on a programme of technology investment that will see the department store chain overhaul several of its core IT platforms.

John Lewis is embarking on a programme of technology investment that will see the department store chain overhaul several of its core IT platforms.

As part of the investment it is searching for 50 new IT staff at a variety of levels to help support the expansion of technology’s role in the business.

It’s all part of the retailer’s bid to be completely multichannel, and the effort the company is planning to devote to IT gives a sense of the amount of work needed for any retailer to get there.

The company is starting with its electronic point of sale (epos) platform, replacing its current system which is around 20 years old. The new epos system, from supplier PCMS, is being rolled out to stores at the moment, and the next stage for the retailer will be a new online platform.

Paul Coby, John Lewis’ IT director who joined in March last year from British Airways, says the rest of the work will be decided on in due course after the retailer has announced its strategy in the spring.

He says the aim of the work is to make it easier to join up John Lewis’ technology systems, in turn making it easier to provide customers with multichannel services.

He says: “We expect multichannel to continue to grow and that means investment. I’m looking to incrementally take areas of the business than put them on the modern platforms that will integrate much more easily with each other.” While John Lewis can already provide shoppers with multichannel services like click and collect, staff have to work across several different systems to do so.

Coby says the retailer’s 280-strong IT department needs boosting by a further 50 to help it achieve what’s needed, and he says he’ll be working closely with John Lewis Corporate which runs the IT infrastructure for the partnership. He is looking at recruiting some apprentices, as well as graduates and more senior staff. He says: “The retail experience is being revolutionised by technology. The world has changed completely and customers demand the ability to shop in any channel.”