John Lewis Partnership

The John Lewis Partnership is a major United Kingdom retailer, operating department stores and, through its Waitrose subsidiary, upmarket supermarkets. Unusually, it is a partnership, with the company held in trust on behalf of its employees (called partners) who receive an annual profit distribution which is usually a significant fraction of their annual salary.

History

The business was founded in 1864 when John Lewis set up a draper's shop in Oxford Street, London, which developed into a department store. In 1905 he bought the Peter Jones store in Sloane Square. In 1920 his son, John Spedan Lewis, expanded earlier power-sharing policies by sharing the profits the business made among the employees. The democratic nature and profit-sharing basis of the business were developed into a formal partnership structure and Spedan Lewis bequeathed the company to his employees. By May 2005, over 63,000 Partners worked for the John Lewis Partnership.

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The principle and slogan Never knowingly undersold was adopted in 1925. It was created by Spedan Lewis in 1925 and was applied to the company's Peter Jones store in Sloane Square, London. It stated that if a customer could buy the same item cheaper elsewhere they would refund the difference. Today, the company still honours this pledge, and many of their competitiors also offer such a pledge. The principle has been more refined, most notably to exclude online shopping, however they are the only large retailer that will match the price with any UK shop, not restricting it to a local area. The policy is also to monitor local competitors and reduce the shelf edge price if they are being 'undersold'. Staff (Partners) also get paid £2 for every time they notify the company of an occasion where they are being 'undersold'.

Related Topics:
Peter Jones - Sloane Square - Online shop

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The shop on Oxford Street was opened in 1960, the original buildings having been bombed. The sculpture Winged Figure by Barbara Hepworth was added in 1962.

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On 27th April 1933 John Lewis Partnership bought Jessops of Nottingham. This store was the first John Lewis outside London. The store kept the name "Jessops" until 2002, when after a refurbishment the store was renamed as simply John Lewis. The partnership has also purchased a number of other regional department stores, as well as developing stores in new locations. As of 2005 it has plans to open a new department store every year for the next few years, which is probably the most ambitious expansion programme in its history.

Related Topics:
27th April - 1933 - Jessops of Nottingham

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