John Lewis Partnership

The overview

The John Lewis Partnership is a chain of 28 department stores and 4 ‘John Lewis at home’ stores. It also runs Waitrose’s 236 supermarkets. While it is not one of the ‘big 4’ retailers, it is one of the best known premium brands in the UK, and a popular choice for wedding lists.

Staff are trained to sell the most suitable product for the customer, not the most profitable.

Particularly interesting is the fact that John Lewis Partnership is not just made up of the different business referred to above, but that the term 'partnership' refers more directly to its employees. Each employee, from graduate to senior management, is a partner in the company. More on this can be found in the culture and values section of this Insight.

There are also growing rumours of the John Lewis Partnership exploring expansion into China. This is not an immediate aim, but clearly something that has been explored by the powers-that-be.

‘Never knowingly undersold’ promise

Despite being known for stocking quality products, John Lewis also has a commitment to being the cheapest supplier of any of its goods in the UK. Its ‘never knowingly undersold’ promise has been a business policy since 1925, and means that John Lewis must price its products cheaper than any other retailer in the area. If a product is bought from them and found for cheaper elsewhere, it will refund the difference. Recently, this has resulted in lower profit levels – but the company is sticking with its philosophy (albeit not online) as a long-term idea. It means that staff are trained not just to sell the most expensive product, but the one most suitable for the customer.

On the podium

It is ranked 70 in the 2011 edition of Guardian UK300 student survey of graduate employers, (2 for retail, after Arcadia).

John Lewis is also the official department store provider to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic games. At the height of Olympic fever it expects to sell a £6 badge every three seconds in its new Stratford branch.

The partnership was also named as the Oracle Retail Week Awards' 'Retailer of the Year' in 2011, and ranked 80 in Deloitte's Global Powers of Retailing, 2012.

Winner of the TARGETJobs Awards, The most popular graduate recruiter – Retail 2012

Salary and benefits

There are different salaries for the three schemes available:

• Graduate scheme salary is £25,000 p/a.
• Industrial placement students receive £15,000 p/a.
• Summer interns are paid £300 p/w.

In addition, there is a raft of benefits:

• Pension plan.
• Full discount after three months’ partnership.
• 22 days paid holiday per year + bank holidays.
• Life assurance worth three times the partner’s annual salary.
• Savings on holidays and the chance to apply for a grant towards the ‘holiday of a lifetime’.
• Access to the ‘partners in sport’ support scheme, as well as a number of subsidised clubs and societies.
• Subsidies on tickets for a wide range of leisure and cultural events.
• Subsidies to help partners who wish to continue their education.
• Bursary for the ‘pursuit of excellence’ – up to £5,000 financial support for any partner competing at a national or international level.
• The chance to apply for a part-time or full-time secondment to a UK registered charity for up to six months.

As well as this, there are a number of other opt-in benefits.

Culture and values

Partnership

John Lewis' culture is that of a partnership – what’s termed as an ‘industrial democracy’ – which means that every single member of staff has a say in what goes on at the business. John Lewis makes a great deal of this, and members of staff refer to each other as ‘partners’ rather than ‘colleagues’. Instead of performance-related pay, staff members are entitled to a share in the annual profits.

John Lewis is a partnership – what’s termed as an ‘industrial democracy’.

So when, on Monday 7 March 2011, the retailer announced over £360 million in pre-tax profits, the partners were the beneficiaries of a bonus worth 18% of their annual salary – all of them. The idea is that, instead of building up internal rivalries – as performance-related-pay might – this joint effort helps the partnership to build up a great team spirit; something John Lewis says it is keen to promote.

Constitution

Fundamental in the creation of John Lewis Partnership's culture is a sense of history, with the company even having a constitution setting out the conduct of employees and goals of the company. It is an attempt by the current leadership to tie in with the beliefs of the company's founder, John Spendan Lewis - principally the idea of employee ownership, as detailed above.

It should, however, be noted that this does not make the company inflexible in its activities. Indeed, within the constitution it is explicitly stated that, 'the Partnership must change constantly to fulfil its ultimate purpose.' That ultimate purpose, it is said, is, 'the happiness of all its members, through their worthwhile and satisfying employment in a successful business.'