John Lewis names Peter Cross customer experience director

Cross, who joined John Lewis in 2013 having formerly been the business partner of Mary Portas, has been appointed as the retailer’s customer experience director.

A John Lewis spokeswoman said: “Peter’s role at John Lewis has broadened beyond his current remit of communications and brand experience to include sustainability and responsible sourcing and customer experience and insight.

“To reflect these changes, Peter’s job title will change to customer experience director.”

Cross will oversee all elements of customer experience at John Lewis, including customer events, visual merchandising including in-store and window displays, and “the end-to-end customer experience”.

In his new post, Cross will continue to report to customer director Craig Inglis.

Large-scale change

Cross’s promotion comes at a time of dramatic change for John Lewis, which is restructuring, including cutting jobs, to adapt to shifts in the consumer landscape.

Last month boss Paula Nickolds hinted at the scale of change ahead as she outlined her vision for the retailer in broad terms.

She told Retail Week then: “It is my determination to give [customers] more of the John Lewis they love and perhaps a little bit of the John Lewis they haven’t even dreamt of yet that will define my time as managing director.”

“It has not escaped me that I am taking on the job at a very challenging time for the industry. There is no map, you are creating a new model, essentially.”