What's happening to John Lewis? | WARC | The Feed

What's happening to John Lewis?

Not only is retailer John Lewis looking for a new creative agency, it’s also looking at a new ownership structure that may forever change how it’s viewed by loyal shoppers and remove an important point of differentiation.

Context 

In recent years, John Lewis has been uniquely successful among department stores. Others have gone into liquidation (eg Debenhams in 2020) or administration (House of Fraser in 2018, before being bought by Sports Direct), but the retailer to the UK’s middle classes has navigated the choppy waters of the high street. Until now.

Covid clearly had a major impact, with eight stores not reopening in 2021 when pandemic restrictions were lifted. But there have been other signs that things were changing, including plans to move into the residential rental market. 

The marketing angle 

In August last year, John Lewis retired its long-running “never knowingly undersold” policy, first introduced in 1925 and a “cherished sign of trust”, executive director Pippa Wicks acknowledged at the time. She added that the pledge no longer “fit with how customers shop today as more purchases are made online”.

Then in February this year, the advertising world was caught off guard when the John Lewis Partnership decided to call a pitch for a new creative agency, effectively ending its longstanding and fruitful relationship with adam&eveDDB.

Now, a few weeks later, the news that the 100% employee-owned business could sell off a minority stake to raise money for investment has some observers concerned about what retail consultant Mary Portas calls “the soul of the brand”. 

More than a shop

Andy Street, a former managing director of John Lewis who is now mayor of the West MIdlands, told the BBC that such a change would be a “tragedy … because I think John Lewis goes a bit beyond a shop”.

The retailer, he suggested, was “about a way of doing business, showing the market there was a better way almost – and that’s potentially under threat”.

Why it matters

John Lewis holds a special place in the UK retail landscape, one that’s been built over many years through a combination of its price promise, its customer service and its treatment of associates (not “employees”). All of that is now at risk as it sets about addressing a £234m loss in 2022. But, Portas told the Guardian, the fight is not just financial.

“The battle in hand is far more nuanced. It’s about what makes up the soul of [the] brand. The intangibles, the shared beliefs, the beautiful things that can’t be captured in financial projections but earn a little space in people’s hearts.”

Sourced from Guardian, BBC, John Lewis, The Drum, Marketing Beat

[Image: John Lewis]