They need to advertise that they are employee owned and are trying to operate a fairer commercial model. I had no idea, i would 100% choose them over M&S now i know!!!
I always saw the wall mural where they explicitly say they are owned by their employees when entering the Oxford store, I thought they would have it everywhere
John Lewis isn’t failing because it’s too ‘nice’ or too good to its employees. For years it has failed to invest in its stores and made a lot of very poor decisions about how it runs. John Lewis stores today are cluttered, dirty and dated and employee perks have been cut back massively and their lack of enthusiasm shows. I don’t know if it’s the CEO or some other executive responsible or just mass complacency but John Lewis Is the author of its own misfortune.
Someone mentioned there needed to be "more theatre" for people to come back to brick and mortar. It reminded me that is exactly what the big department stores offered when they began. The theatre and excitement of electric lights and escalators and moving displays and the almost bewildering arrays of choice. I don't believe online will ever kill the physical retail experience. I think people need to see and touch and ask questions. We threw the baby out with the bathwater a bit on that one. Online will be far bigger of course but there will always be space for physical. All they need to bring back is the sense of occasion.
If I may say so, this is a brilliant capture of writing: "All they need to bring back is the sense of occasion." Exactly. I think the prior years of our younger years where entertainment was predominantly external brought us to excitedly go to the retail spaces. Now we have our own personalised gaming space at home; entertainment system at home. Even the occasion of shopping is now done at home. It's on the retailer to be creative to find a new manner of building that sense of occasion. They fell asleep at the wheel taking customers coming in for granted; and are now paying the cost. It's shame as I do believe inherently, people outside is a net positive for humanity; however, it will have to be earned by the industry players. It can't be expected to be a call to history when the innovators that have built both our ability and expectation to have personalisation at home are actually doing a brilliant job at it and won this space by being better. It's on the retail spaces to be inventive; just like how the new age tech players were inventive to beat them.
I have worked for JLP, as well as many other companies. From my experience working there, I honestly don't think they treat their employees any better or worse than any other other employer. Also, with regards to the co-ownership model, it didn't really feel like it meant anything, rather than owning shares in the business, the company pays you an annual bonus (dependent on performance), but many other (non employee owned) businesses do the same. All that said, I do agree that Waitrose and John Lewis are among some of the best places to shop.
Huawei use the same model. If you work for the firm you can hold shares and if you leave you have to sell the shares. The firm is 100% employee-owned, and interestingly the government at the time criticised it for being "too capitalist". Later on the firm made so much money and paid so much tax that the government changed its mind and thought, wow this is great, and chances are the ways of the firm influenced government thinking rather than the other way around. John Lewis' model is fine, but it is in a difficult sector. People shop online now and so the grand department store is a thing of the past. It's still living in the 1950s.
Huawei the company is effectively owned by the Chinese Communist Party? the government that is undertaking ethnic cleansing and re-education in some of its provinces?
Companies had to do that, cos we were still trying to recover from the financial crashes.. So saving quite a few million people, is better than not saving anybody... So... And they held their own, to be fair... but it does mean that the rest of us also doesn't survive either? So it feels like everyone is equalised.
@@MeiinUK The reason it is good for Huawei is the technology they produce is very sophisticated, but the best people to understand it are those that work on it, so what you have in effect is a highly intelligent shareholder group, and because of this the decisions taken are long-term. This is much preferred to the PLC where large shareholders are often pension funds and the like. They don't really understand the tech. To understand tech is to build it.
Expected to see more data driven answers from FT. For example would have liked to see productivity per employee or at least sick leave or staff turnover data in comparison to the UK or retail and grocery averages.
Yes, I agree. It just feels like the F.T. has a downer on the idea of the model and has a lot of talking heads to complain about it. It has survived when the other department stores went, it's come through covid and I think it will continue.
I would say that an issue JL is facing is there isn’t much appeal to younger shoppers. This was something I noticed Debenhams had an issue with before the buyout. M&S actually has items I’d like to buy as an under 30. I think if the range of products were improved and the stores modernised, then sales could potentially improve. I also think the flagship store in grand central may not have been the best location. In grand central, people are focused on getting their trains or getting food to go. There are smaller stores owned by well known brands but no where near as large as JL. I think if they were located in the bill ring where the pool of shoppers is far greater, the results may have been better. I do hope they return to Birmingham in the future, albeit with improvement in approach.
But most young people had cars as well to drive to and it gives them the freedom. If some of those stores either created a nice space to have kind of like co-working spaces or gatherings. And young millennials are very green conscious. M&S wear are now cross generational move. I.e. bridging the age gap and it's modern. So that allow the average family to cut costs ?.... It needs a good strategy for the young generation though.
It's not really a young people's store, young uns don't have money and it's an aspirational brand. I think their customers have always been middle aged and above.
I have had nothing but great experience with John Lewis customer service. They sent people round to sort out a problem with my sofa twice and just straight up replaced it when it couldn't be fixed. No arguments whatsoever. That's why you pay the premium.
As long as the customers are not considered the main investors of the company capitalism will not be able to compete with models that do not have to squeeze max profit out of each and every little step. This is true for governments as well, as long as the tax payer is not considered the main investor in the nation then they will lose as well.
Actually the cruise industry has started for the very first time. And I think that's brilliant for a niche in extensive but at the same time fragile hospitality industry
Employee owned model is fantastic aside from one issue - despite the fact you should be able to raise funds from the 'owners' this of course isn't possible. great film FT
The economy is grappling with uncertainties, global fluctuations, and pandemic aftermath, causing instability. Rising inflation, sluggish growth, and trade disruptions need urgent attention from all sectors to restore stability and stimulate growth.
Things are strange right now. The US dollar is becoming less valuable because of inflation, but it's getting stronger compared to other currencies and things like gold and property. People are turning to the dollar because they think it's safer. I'm worried about my retirement savings of about $420,000 losing value because of high inflation. Where else can we keep our money?
It's often true that people underestimate the importance of financial advisors until they feel the negative effects of emotional decision-making. I remember a few summers ago, after a tough divorce, when I needed a boost for my struggling business. I researched and found a licensed advisor who diligently helped grow my reserves despite inflation. Consequently, my reserves increased from $275k to around $750k.
I'm intrigued by this. I've searched for financial advisors online but it's kind of hard to get in touch with one. Okay if I ask you for a recommendation?
Finding financial advisors like Melissa Terri Swayne who can assist you shape your portfolio would be a very creative option. There will be difficult times ahead, and prudent personal money management will be essential to navigating them.
As an American, I had never heard of this company. Based solely on the information provided here, it seems pretty obvious that the chairwoman they hired seemed to be a terrible decision. She had no experience in that industry or with that business model. Rather than trying to fit into the mold of the company she was leading, she tried to remold it into something she knew, to something that was completely antithetical. We can also talk about standards here. Within the past 2 decades. John Lewis endured the 2008 financial crisis, a global pandemic, Brexit, the rise of broadband internet and ecommerce along with the first generation born into it, and fierce competition in a low margin industry. It is completely absurd to believe that such a company should remain profitable year over year throughout all that. It's far more important that they weather the storm and have some savings to fall back into instead of relying on government handouts. Despite this, you talked about the company condescendingly and defended a bad executive because the owners refused to engage in the practice of wealth extraction and consolidation to facilitate larger scale wealth extraction.
American who agrees. 100 years is impressive. In the US no retailer hasn’t been hurt by Amazon’s model. Also, I’m on second startup in SF. Secret of the valley: Startups are coops.
Seems to me like the chairwoman had the balls to make decisions her predecessors couldn't. They were bleeding money and refusing to diversify their products and adapt to the online shopping trend
@@backto-il9ne Her inexperience in retail showed. Instead of performing the surgery that was needed and rebuilding the brand for the modern age, she tried diversifying away from retail into other areas like banking and property which was a costly & bizarre move. She had her head in the sand and ran the company like a govt department. JLP is still on the hook for her mistakes. Instead of talking up JLP, she went on national television to tell everyone all about in-store thefts that were happening.
Many would agree.. although I think she could’ve had the chance to diversify (with investments) but it’s a huge legacy British brand and not entirely profit driven. Apparently JL have now hired someone very very experienced in the retail sector so he might turnaround the firm.
As an ex-loyal John Lewis and Waitrose shopper, who used to shop there because of the great customer service and their ethos, I have stopped shopping there. Their customer customer service in both JL and Waitrose have been declining in the past 10 years. They have lost their USP!
Can’t blame you.. customer service is a key factor for me and could make a firm lose my custom. M&S were always nice. Not much to expect from Tesco/Asda but they have what’s needed and I had no issues. Surprisingly I’ve been a long term amazon customer, way before the behemoth it became and they were always about quality customer service.
It's terrible in the Oxford Street shop, which is supposed to be a flagship one. Often you can't find anyone to help, and waiting times at the till are terrible, even when there are relatively few people in front of you. The last towels I bought from John Lewis have started to fall apart in 6 months
And the quality is decent for a reasonable price. I still have some of their bedding and cashmere jumpers that I got from my uni days nearly ten years ago. Most other brands would have fallen apart ages ago.
Worth finding out what proportion of the population (start with a low cost curve of JL customers) know John Lewis is owned by the staff? There maybe a gulf between that being bleeding obvious to insiders and little known to the population at large. I’m sure if a great step more people knew the shop is owned by the staff an important marginal increase in people would shop there. Many people aren’t dancing in the streets to shop where the profits go to a private equity firm. Only talking about market share reprising firm 3.8% to say 4.2%
Good coverage, a bit slow and repetative. Would have been nice to hear the views from the actual partners on the ground. Sharon White's creative approach would probably have worked better in a less institutionalised company. I feel this coverage is a bit too easy/apologist towards her.
Although I spent only around 3 years living in the UK between London and Aberdeen, I had no prior knowledge of John Lewis. This store stands out in terms of its ambiance, products, and most importantly, customer service. Sadly, the one in Aberdeen has been closed.
John Lewis needs to not be modest or humble about their staff-owned structure. That is a huge selling point! Consumers want their spending to matter more, we want our spending to reflect our values. I would much rather support an employee-owned business than a standard corporate entity.
I've been using this strategy for a week now (following my 2x1 risk management) and I've grown 20% of my account. Thanks, I'll keep using it for a while.
The retail experience is gone. Where I live it’s just awful to shop. From shootings to poor customer behaviors- Retail seems to be doomed because there is nothing pleasant in brick and mortar shopping
Why did you mention Topshop in the same breath as Debenhams and House of Fraser? Topshop was clothing only, not a department store, and it went out of business much earlier than the other two.
While employee ownership is not the common model, there are examples of it around the world. I don't think it's inherently an issue, but there are different ways of implementing that. It's also worth noting that there's nothing in tthe employee ownership model that stops the leadership from making the wrong decision, at the end of day John Lewis has proven itself to be a brand that endures.
As an American I think M&S blows John Lewis out of the water. M&S just has better designs, quality, mix of products, innovation and value. I think M&S food has better variety as well, better pre cooked meals, better snacks etc. Waitrose quality is better but I only buy certain items from them, whereas I can buy pretty much everything I need at M&S food.
M&S changed all their stores too. It looks like an Asda which I don't like. Their offerings changed to a lower price point as well. M&S got their food everywhere. In service stations. In small local middle class stores. Small but near good schools. Near good families. It's like a convenience store but it still serves like a big store. So they didn't go for a flag ship.. but they played around with their strategies. Definitely a store near car run routes. Drop offs for school runs. Has school kits to grab as well. Etc etc. Maybe they didn't trust a lot of big data but decent small local knowledge...
@@leoprg5330 : Nobody shops any more, cos it is too expensive.. and we are all living in mostly HMOs.... and living by hand outs, or by actual low wages.. etc etc etc. It matters not that we watch these form of videos.. it doesn't do anything for the average individual that cannot get out of the matrix. Blue pill, or the red pill ?
man, as a german i was wondering when the part about child labour is coming up. To quote a famous Ferrari driver: I am stupid. (kinder=children in german)
john lewis was thriving when the middle class was stronger and people believed that they had the purchasing power to support and take part in kinder capitalism
The partnership needs to go back to basics, sell quality, check quality. Jason has a lot of work to do, they have three brands of clothes, and or, kin, John Lewis, it's confusing. Staff training is so important customers need advice, with good selling skills. The partnership card change upset lots of customers both for J Lewis and Waitrose they were refused a card even though they pay off each month. Waitrose introduce things to customers then take them away, this upsets them. Free newspapers paper voucher's, some customers get more offers than the staff discount, partners are wondering why they work there, on minimum pay, Customers hate S White, partners are thinking she's stayed for the pay out. The small profit they are talking about has been boasted by selling the assets, the golf course was sold the buildings they owned were sold and rented back. The last Xmas advert they created a cuddly toy which they had to give away to children in store as they couldn't sell them. John Spedan Lewis would say, back to basics, look after employees, and they will look after the customers, of course a profit is more complicated than that every detail needs to be looked into. I T systems need to work.
I'd happily make a point of shopping in Waitrose and John Lewis as regularly as possible but they've never opened one of either in Coventry. A town of 300,000 people with a decent enough size middle class population and still nothing.
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YES!!! That's exactly her name (Maria Davis) so many people have recommended highly about her and am just starting with her 😊 from Brisbane Australia🇦🇺
my only problem with john lewis is that it's too far away, you can find smaller m&s stores everywhere, and a big one is 20 mins away from me, meanwhile JL is 30 mins away, and that makes a lot of difference when I am walking there
Ms.White was not the right choice and John Lewis should avoid employing people like that - only folk who have experience with JL and are not just pen pushing bureaucrats
Fascinating business structure, from what it describes it almost sounds like a democracy and like most democracies i think in the long term it will be the most sustainable
I dont like seeing any classic Brit firms go down but big up M&S!!! Was also just seeing some funny comedy about Brit culture and how highly Waitrose shoppers think of themselves. Even funnier Tesco and Asda seemed to have ticked along so well. And many Lidl customers are happy.
From America, went to multiple countries. Britain, France, Germany, and Italy are supposed to be richest countries in all of europe. Where I'm from their Walmart (great company, worked there when I was teenager), Aldi, dollar general, lidl, trader Joe's, food lion, Kmart, Ingles, and hundreds of other retail stores.
@@TheWedabest yup, I've always wanted to go to germany. Some of my family came from Wales, some of them came from germany. Supposedly 1000 people in London have same last name as my family, so do poland.
They just need more stock, simple. Bring back the toy section, more choice in kids clothing, nicer lingerie sets, better handbag displays, sell the bedding that’s actually on display, hold events (makeup, clothing & bedding), their haberdashery section is dire, focus on the JL staples & clean up the shop floor & image LITERALLY. It’s that simple.
Sharon White was a DEI hire without retail experience and despite this documentary defending her, she’s done a terrible job and proven why DEI is so damaging
Why you hating on upper middle class? They're not the ones pulling the strings of big corporations, lobbying governments, and hoarding billions in wealth. They play the game well but don't make the rules.
@@HarryMonnwho do you think I pull those strings? Which socioeconomic class do those people executor fall into? Fact of the matter is that they are the foot soldiers.
John Lewis staff if you can find one on the shop floor are the most entitled and ill informed staff or co-owners you’ll ever come across in retail. And the fact that they’re the most boring environments to shop in … literally need to fork my palm to stay awake trying to find what I’m looking for Kinda good for customers who have private pensions and invest in government bonds and 30% cap invested in BP shares for the dividends
You're not wrong on the first point. I remember not long ago being in their Reading store, and asking a member of staff if they had any linen bedding, as in, bedding made from linen rather than cotton or poly blend. The women typed "linen" into her ipad, and had a range of bedding come up, but it was listed as "bed linen sets". She kept insisting it was linen, and pointing me to the shelf, but I could see on her ipad that they were cotton. When I went to the shelf to confirm by reading the packaging, she didn't come with me. I just felt very dismissed. Bought it from M&S instead.
A big part of the problem is that it’s not a true worker’s co-op. Look at Mondragon, and it’s retail arm Eroski, for an example of how to make it work.
Brexit probably didn't help. I used often buy bedsheets or clothing off their online shop here in Ireland but then they shopped shipping abroad in 2021. There are 20 places to go for discounted goods nowadays I think if they can weather the storm a bit they'll do well sticking to their existing model because nearly everything equivalent is now gone out of business.
Same here, pre their change in international orders we bought a lot from them. M&S have only got better in this regard over the same period. At the same time, last time we were visiting the UK in store one of the partners recommended and found our 11 year old daughter (too tall for children's clothes albeit with age-typical tastes) a personal shopper who did an absolutely fantastic job and enabled us to get a full season's clothes and shoes in one shop.
I not been in there is like 3 years i with John Lewis did food stuff and snaks a bakery they should use a full floor for that they would do so well and create more jobs
Love JL/Waitrose and wish they could keep the same employee owned policy yet share with the nation and allow shared ownership with the British public... 😍
Employees do not own the business, the shares of JLP PLC are held in trust and not by the employees. The staff are employees of that PLC they are not partners in any legal sense.
My compensation has a significant stock component. The moment it vests I immediately sell it so that I’m not doubly exposed to my company’s performance (if things go south, my job AND my savings would be at risk). I think pensions are awful ideas for the same reason… just pay your employees more and let them take care of themselves. Plenty of companies are famously great to their employees without marrying them.
Service is for those who can overpay. Most millennials & later generations will never know how great true customer service can be. It’s not just retail this model has downgraded; also in the trend that paying anyone else to do something you should be able to do on your own as a middle class person, reserved for the elite & wealthy to pay others to do things for them. It unfortunately is extending to consulting & coaching from professionals who can offer value DIY cannot.
nice video John Lewis is usually the first place I think off when I want to buy stuff but there's know longer any real jobs or job security and young people see crime as a sense of family
they probably made those difficult to access in the first place. my ex worked there and they would dock 1/4 of the Bonus and the explanations given were laughable frankly
The word kind does not go with capitalism or business or money. The energies or qualities of business and money has nothing to do with kindness, so to put the two together is akin to blind faith
Service in Oxford Street isn’t so great, but that’s a lot to do with the customers, who aren’t into banter and interpersonal relationships with shopkeepers. Shame. The profile of the modern London customer is dull and indifferent?
You would be a fool to be buying in John Lewis or Waitrose just because they are “nice” as per FT. Go buy the cheapest thing you get, you are consumers (the kings and queens of the market) in this crazy, costly UK.
"Beloved company" yet no one is shopping there lol Nostalgia and business are fuel and fire. They need a Sharon White forward-thinking type figure 10 years before they hired a Sharon White.
Personally, I think John Lewis should've not spend so much money on buildings, or whatever, but literally take Burberry off the footsie and buy it ! (And then relicense back their deals back to the likes of Japan.. like they used to... and create jobs again.... and rerun some of the mills. But to turn it back round.... and turn those factories into green ones.)
Buy a part of Burberry and have custom made items or only those items that they could buy from JL's stores... (that brings in tourists).... and then re-assess if they could maybe also then expand into countries like Japan ?... So.... Cos those who loves the British brand, would always come back. And there isn't anything that is more than JL.
They can only also turn this thing around too, if they also in some ways connect with Lloyds... and use their cards or whatever... as a service... And then also tap into India.. and open one or two basic stores there instead.. .And leverage. And then to bring in that typical middle class thing.. into both Uber Upper Middle Class of India.. as well as keeping the UK's middle class as middle class. (And people in India reveres classic British fashion and cuttings as well.) And maybe time that JL considers actual TV as well ?... In India, say.
I think that the online phenomenon is reaching saturation point. Sainsbury's came out recently and said that people were almost all back to the shops again, it's very different to buy a book or a hoover online and food, clothes, textiles and cosmetics -impulse buys. Most women I know have had so many horrible experiences buying clothes online that they've given it up. Shoes are another no-no. If you know a particular brand of soap or perfume then reordering online might work but most women like to change regularly, especially younger women. They want to browse the aisle and sniff and try. I think that it's the F.T. that's not keeping up. How about covering the move away from online shopping? Many people are making conscious efforts to shop on their local high street because we've all seen them dieing.
It does work, but John Lewis has made some poor decisions in a modern market that need fixing. Look at the recent stories about Arizona Iced Tea, when you have the right business decisions in place and deliver a good product group, you can always win.
It's hardly kinder. John Lewis caused thousands of pounds worth of damage when installing white goods, and refused to pay more than a quarter of the cost to repair even after admitting fault. I had to take them to small claims to get the issue resolved. I've never had to do that with any other company or tradesman when mistakes are made. Horrible company gauge prices or horrible service
They need to advertise that they are employee owned and are trying to operate a fairer commercial model. I had no idea, i would 100% choose them over M&S now i know!!!
I had no idea either to be honest. It would've made a difference if I had. I just saw them as a more expensive alternative.
It’s literally in the name.. ‘John Lewis & PARTNERS’
@@HarryJ10 yup and that was a rebrand to underline that it is employee owned. clearly didn't work for everyone :D
I always saw the wall mural where they explicitly say they are owned by their employees when entering the Oxford store, I thought they would have it everywhere
This is strange that so many people aren't aware of this, it's literally the only reason most people know of them.
Reducing income inequality isn't only kinder, it's more prosperous as well. It reduces crime, healthcare expenditures etc
Indeed! If people are happy and taken care of, the chance of revolutions is much lower.
Retail is an industry too cutthroat for them to survive in when you have lean and hyper-efficient companies like Amazon in the arena.
@@theoldgods8229 Amazon is not very efficient; it has a very high churn rate amongst other issues.
John Lewis isn’t failing because it’s too ‘nice’ or too good to its employees. For years it has failed to invest in its stores and made a lot of very poor decisions about how it runs. John Lewis stores today are cluttered, dirty and dated and employee perks have been cut back massively and their lack of enthusiasm shows.
I don’t know if it’s the CEO or some other executive responsible or just mass complacency but John Lewis Is the author of its own misfortune.
employing Sharon White was a massive mistake too
Someone mentioned there needed to be "more theatre" for people to come back to brick and mortar. It reminded me that is exactly what the big department stores offered when they began. The theatre and excitement of electric lights and escalators and moving displays and the almost bewildering arrays of choice. I don't believe online will ever kill the physical retail experience. I think people need to see and touch and ask questions. We threw the baby out with the bathwater a bit on that one. Online will be far bigger of course but there will always be space for physical. All they need to bring back is the sense of occasion.
If I may say so, this is a brilliant capture of writing: "All they need to bring back is the sense of occasion."
Exactly. I think the prior years of our younger years where entertainment was predominantly external brought us to excitedly go to the retail spaces. Now we have our own personalised gaming space at home; entertainment system at home. Even the occasion of shopping is now done at home. It's on the retailer to be creative to find a new manner of building that sense of occasion. They fell asleep at the wheel taking customers coming in for granted; and are now paying the cost. It's shame as I do believe inherently, people outside is a net positive for humanity; however, it will have to be earned by the industry players. It can't be expected to be a call to history when the innovators that have built both our ability and expectation to have personalisation at home are actually doing a brilliant job at it and won this space by being better. It's on the retail spaces to be inventive; just like how the new age tech players were inventive to beat them.
The ease with which the children in this piece express one resounding Neo-liberal consensus is truly damning.
I have worked for JLP, as well as many other companies. From my experience working there, I honestly don't think they treat their employees any better or worse than any other other employer. Also, with regards to the co-ownership model, it didn't really feel like it meant anything, rather than owning shares in the business, the company pays you an annual bonus (dependent on performance), but many other (non employee owned) businesses do the same. All that said, I do agree that Waitrose and John Lewis are among some of the best places to shop.
Yeah all this partner nonsense it’s just like working anywhere else
Huawei use the same model. If you work for the firm you can hold shares and if you leave you have to sell the shares. The firm is 100% employee-owned, and interestingly the government at the time criticised it for being "too capitalist". Later on the firm made so much money and paid so much tax that the government changed its mind and thought, wow this is great, and chances are the ways of the firm influenced government thinking rather than the other way around.
John Lewis' model is fine, but it is in a difficult sector. People shop online now and so the grand department store is a thing of the past. It's still living in the 1950s.
Huawei the company is effectively owned by the Chinese Communist Party? the government that is undertaking ethnic cleansing and re-education in some of its provinces?
Companies had to do that, cos we were still trying to recover from the financial crashes.. So saving quite a few million people, is better than not saving anybody... So... And they held their own, to be fair... but it does mean that the rest of us also doesn't survive either? So it feels like everyone is equalised.
@@MeiinUK The reason it is good for Huawei is the technology they produce is very sophisticated, but the best people to understand it are those that work on it, so what you have in effect is a highly intelligent shareholder group, and because of this the decisions taken are long-term. This is much preferred to the PLC where large shareholders are often pension funds and the like. They don't really understand the tech. To understand tech is to build it.
Expected to see more data driven answers from FT. For example would have liked to see productivity per employee or at least sick leave or staff turnover data in comparison to the UK or retail and grocery averages.
JL wouldn’t release this data surely
For sure they'd never disclose that
Yes, I agree. It just feels like the F.T. has a downer on the idea of the model and has a lot of talking heads to complain about it. It has survived when the other department stores went, it's come through covid and I think it will continue.
I would say that an issue JL is facing is there isn’t much appeal to younger shoppers. This was something I noticed Debenhams had an issue with before the buyout. M&S actually has items I’d like to buy as an under 30. I think if the range of products were improved and the stores modernised, then sales could potentially improve. I also think the flagship store in grand central may not have been the best location. In grand central, people are focused on getting their trains or getting food to go. There are smaller stores owned by well known brands but no where near as large as JL. I think if they were located in the bill ring where the pool of shoppers is far greater, the results may have been better. I do hope they return to Birmingham in the future, albeit with improvement in approach.
But most young people had cars as well to drive to and it gives them the freedom. If some of those stores either created a nice space to have kind of like co-working spaces or gatherings. And young millennials are very green conscious. M&S wear are now cross generational move. I.e. bridging the age gap and it's modern. So that allow the average family to cut costs ?.... It needs a good strategy for the young generation though.
It's not really a young people's store, young uns don't have money and it's an aspirational brand. I think their customers have always been middle aged and above.
I have had nothing but great experience with John Lewis customer service. They sent people round to sort out a problem with my sofa twice and just straight up replaced it when it couldn't be fixed. No arguments whatsoever. That's why you pay the premium.
As long as the customers are not considered the main investors of the company capitalism will not be able to compete with models that do not have to squeeze max profit out of each and every little step. This is true for governments as well, as long as the tax payer is not considered the main investor in the nation then they will lose as well.
Actually the cruise industry has started for the very first time. And I think that's brilliant for a niche in extensive but at the same time fragile hospitality industry
This has to be the mandatory model for every single business
Employee owned model is fantastic aside from one issue - despite the fact you should be able to raise funds from the 'owners' this of course isn't possible. great film FT
The economy is grappling with uncertainties, global fluctuations, and pandemic aftermath, causing instability. Rising inflation, sluggish growth, and trade disruptions need urgent attention from all sectors to restore stability and stimulate growth.
Things are strange right now. The US dollar is becoming less valuable because of inflation, but it's getting stronger compared to other currencies and things like gold and property. People are turning to the dollar because they think it's safer. I'm worried about my retirement savings of about $420,000 losing value because of high inflation. Where else can we keep our money?
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As an American, I had never heard of this company. Based solely on the information provided here, it seems pretty obvious that the chairwoman they hired seemed to be a terrible decision. She had no experience in that industry or with that business model. Rather than trying to fit into the mold of the company she was leading, she tried to remold it into something she knew, to something that was completely antithetical.
We can also talk about standards here. Within the past 2 decades. John Lewis endured the 2008 financial crisis, a global pandemic, Brexit, the rise of broadband internet and ecommerce along with the first generation born into it, and fierce competition in a low margin industry. It is completely absurd to believe that such a company should remain profitable year over year throughout all that. It's far more important that they weather the storm and have some savings to fall back into instead of relying on government handouts.
Despite this, you talked about the company condescendingly and defended a bad executive because the owners refused to engage in the practice of wealth extraction and consolidation to facilitate larger scale wealth extraction.
American who agrees. 100 years is impressive. In the US no retailer hasn’t been hurt by Amazon’s model.
Also, I’m on second startup in SF. Secret of the valley: Startups are coops.
100% correct. To be fair, John Lewis was going downhill before she arrived but she was the worst appointment they could have made.
Seems to me like the chairwoman had the balls to make decisions her predecessors couldn't. They were bleeding money and refusing to diversify their products and adapt to the online shopping trend
@@backto-il9ne Her inexperience in retail showed. Instead of performing the surgery that was needed and rebuilding the brand for the modern age, she tried diversifying away from retail into other areas like banking and property which was a costly & bizarre move. She had her head in the sand and ran the company like a govt department. JLP is still on the hook for her mistakes. Instead of talking up JLP, she went on national television to tell everyone all about in-store thefts that were happening.
Many would agree.. although I think she could’ve had the chance to diversify (with investments) but it’s a huge legacy British brand and not entirely profit driven. Apparently JL have now hired someone very very experienced in the retail sector so he might turnaround the firm.
As an ex-loyal John Lewis and Waitrose shopper, who used to shop there because of the great customer service and their ethos, I have stopped shopping there. Their customer customer service in both JL and Waitrose have been declining in the past 10 years. They have lost their USP!
Can’t blame you.. customer service is a key factor for me and could make a firm lose my custom. M&S were always nice. Not much to expect from Tesco/Asda but they have what’s needed and I had no issues.
Surprisingly I’ve been a long term amazon customer, way before the behemoth it became and they were always about quality customer service.
It's terrible in the Oxford Street shop, which is supposed to be a flagship one. Often you can't find anyone to help, and waiting times at the till are terrible, even when there are relatively few people in front of you.
The last towels I bought from John Lewis have started to fall apart in 6 months
And the quality is decent for a reasonable price. I still have some of their bedding and cashmere jumpers that I got from my uni days nearly ten years ago. Most other brands would have fallen apart ages ago.
John Lewis bath towels are so nice. One of the few house things I forcibly found space to bring with me when I left the UK lol
Worth finding out what proportion of the population (start with a low cost curve of JL customers) know John Lewis is owned by the staff?
There maybe a gulf between that being bleeding obvious to insiders and little known to the population at large.
I’m sure if a great step more people knew the shop is owned by the staff an important marginal increase in people would shop there.
Many people aren’t dancing in the streets to shop where the profits go to a private equity firm.
Only talking about market share reprising firm 3.8% to say 4.2%
Good coverage, a bit slow and repetative. Would have been nice to hear the views from the actual partners on the ground. Sharon White's creative approach would probably have worked better in a less institutionalised company. I feel this coverage is a bit too easy/apologist towards her.
They can't admit publicly that White was a DEI hire, and that's caused a lot of problems.
Although I spent only around 3 years living in the UK between London and Aberdeen, I had no prior knowledge of John Lewis. This store stands out in terms of its ambiance, products, and most importantly, customer service. Sadly, the one in Aberdeen has been closed.
The absolute last thing a co-operative should do is bring in financial capitalists. That way lies disaster.
If John Lewis and M&S are middle market then I wonder what is considered upper market?
Harrods, Selfridges
Harrods, Harvey Nics, Whole foods, Peter Jones
@@munaali840 Peter Jones is the John Lewis store in Sloane Square
@@munaali840fortnum and masons.
When Amazon came, it’s pretty much a ticking time bomb for all giant department store.
John Lewis is not employee owned. The shares are held in a trust for the benefit of the employees.
John Lewis needs to not be modest or humble about their staff-owned structure. That is a huge selling point! Consumers want their spending to matter more, we want our spending to reflect our values. I would much rather support an employee-owned business than a standard corporate entity.
They need to change the partners to something that makes it more clearly worker owned I had no idea until now.
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The retail experience is gone. Where I live it’s just awful to shop. From shootings to poor customer behaviors- Retail seems to be doomed because there is nothing pleasant in brick and mortar shopping
Why did you mention Topshop in the same breath as Debenhams and House of Fraser? Topshop was clothing only, not a department store, and it went out of business much earlier than the other two.
John Lewis is a brand that targets the middle-class. With the erosion of the middle class, their fall is inevitable.
While employee ownership is not the common model, there are examples of it around the world. I don't think it's inherently an issue, but there are different ways of implementing that. It's also worth noting that there's nothing in tthe employee ownership model that stops the leadership from making the wrong decision, at the end of day John Lewis has proven itself to be a brand that endures.
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As an American I think M&S blows John Lewis out of the water. M&S just has better designs, quality, mix of products, innovation and value. I think M&S food has better variety as well, better pre cooked meals, better snacks etc. Waitrose quality is better but I only buy certain items from them, whereas I can buy pretty much everything I need at M&S food.
M&S changed all their stores too. It looks like an Asda which I don't like. Their offerings changed to a lower price point as well. M&S got their food everywhere. In service stations. In small local middle class stores. Small but near good schools. Near good families. It's like a convenience store but it still serves like a big store. So they didn't go for a flag ship.. but they played around with their strategies. Definitely a store near car run routes. Drop offs for school runs. Has school kits to grab as well. Etc etc. Maybe they didn't trust a lot of big data but decent small local knowledge...
@@MeiinUKI don't know if Oxford Street is still relevant but would love to see a revamped M&S flagship on the Oxford street
@@leoprg5330 : Nobody shops any more, cos it is too expensive.. and we are all living in mostly HMOs.... and living by hand outs, or by actual low wages.. etc etc etc. It matters not that we watch these form of videos.. it doesn't do anything for the average individual that cannot get out of the matrix. Blue pill, or the red pill ?
M&S pre cooked meals are bland, unsatisfying and overpriced, just like other pre cooked meals. I really don't understand the appeal.
man, as a german i was wondering when the part about child labour is coming up. To quote a famous Ferrari driver: I am stupid. (kinder=children in german)
to answer your curiosity: yes, child labor is competitive in a ruthless capitalist environment.
Ask china .
Free Palestine.
@@queeniegreengrass3513 from world 💀
Love how they're staff-owned. Business owners that wish to retire should sell to the staff.
john lewis was thriving when the middle class was stronger and people believed that they had the purchasing power to support and take part in kinder capitalism
The partnership needs to go back to basics, sell quality, check quality. Jason has a lot of work to do, they have three brands of clothes, and or, kin, John Lewis, it's confusing. Staff training is so important customers need advice, with good selling skills. The partnership card change upset lots of customers both for J Lewis and Waitrose they were refused a card even though they pay off each month. Waitrose introduce things to customers then take them away, this upsets them. Free newspapers paper voucher's, some customers get more offers than the staff discount, partners are wondering why they work there, on minimum pay, Customers hate S White, partners are thinking she's stayed for the pay out.
The small profit they are talking about has been boasted by selling the assets, the golf course was sold the buildings they owned were sold and rented back. The last Xmas advert they created a cuddly toy which they had to give away to children in store as they couldn't sell them. John Spedan Lewis would say, back to basics, look after employees, and they will look after the customers, of course a profit is more complicated than that every detail needs to be looked into. I T systems need to work.
Their build to rent projects are CRAZY
I'd happily make a point of shopping in Waitrose and John Lewis as regularly as possible but they've never opened one of either in Coventry. A town of 300,000 people with a decent enough size middle class population and still nothing.
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This is the first balanced assessment of Sharon White that I’ve seen. I do think Tarry will step change their performance
Same as SEARS, they insisted so much on the physical retail shop experience ignoring the online shopping phenomenon growing.
Sharon White will go down as one of the worst appointments of a ‘CEO’ equivalent position in the UK
Interesting to see how profit and ethics could be balanced
The exact same product costed £160 at JL and £130 on Amazon..so the choice for my purchase was clear.
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my only problem with john lewis is that it's too far away, you can find smaller m&s stores everywhere, and a big one is 20 mins away from me, meanwhile JL is 30 mins away, and that makes a lot of difference when I am walking there
The employee ownership model is laudable, just a pity they’ve failed to be quicker on their feet
Ms.White was not the right choice and John Lewis should avoid employing people like that - only folk who have experience with JL and are not just pen pushing bureaucrats
Fascinating business structure, from what it describes it almost sounds like a democracy and like most democracies i think in the long term it will be the most sustainable
I dont like seeing any classic Brit firms go down but big up M&S!!! Was also just seeing some funny comedy about Brit culture and how highly Waitrose shoppers think of themselves. Even funnier Tesco and Asda seemed to have ticked along so well. And many Lidl customers are happy.
From America, went to multiple countries. Britain, France, Germany, and Italy are supposed to be richest countries in all of europe. Where I'm from their Walmart (great company, worked there when I was teenager), Aldi, dollar general, lidl, trader Joe's, food lion, Kmart, Ingles, and hundreds of other retail stores.
I'm surprised you mentioned Kmart. I know a few are open, but it's mostly going out of business. Food lion is a regional chain, right?
@@TheWedabest yup, I've always wanted to go to germany. Some of my family came from Wales, some of them came from germany. Supposedly 1000 people in London have same last name as my family, so do poland.
Thanks for an excellent piece, FT!
They just need more stock, simple. Bring back the toy section, more choice in kids clothing, nicer lingerie sets, better handbag displays, sell the bedding that’s actually on display, hold events (makeup, clothing & bedding), their haberdashery section is dire, focus on the JL staples & clean up the shop floor & image LITERALLY. It’s that simple.
I´m Spanish but I heard about M&S and never heared of Lewis. They need to invest in the sustainable market and go to sustainable events .
I like m&s products but I like JL ethos
Very good piece on JL.
Sharon White was a DEI hire without retail experience and despite this documentary defending her, she’s done a terrible job and proven why DEI is so damaging
Yes I noticed they tip-toed around that one.
How lovely it must be for all the upper middle class people who can afford to shop there
Actually a large percentage of them are absolutely miserable not so lovely really under the surface
Why you hating on upper middle class? They're not the ones pulling the strings of big corporations, lobbying governments, and hoarding billions in wealth. They play the game well but don't make the rules.
Ah yes, the Middle class, the REAL enemies of the people! Are you for real?
@@HarryMonnwho do you think I pull those strings? Which socioeconomic class do those people executor fall into? Fact of the matter is that they are the foot soldiers.
@@HarryMonn your definition of hatred is pretty low bar
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John Lewis staff if you can find one on the shop floor are the most entitled and ill informed staff or co-owners you’ll ever come across in retail.
And the fact that they’re the most boring environments to shop in … literally need to fork my palm to stay awake trying to find what I’m looking for
Kinda good for customers who have private pensions and invest in government bonds and 30% cap invested in BP shares for the dividends
You're not wrong on the first point. I remember not long ago being in their Reading store, and asking a member of staff if they had any linen bedding, as in, bedding made from linen rather than cotton or poly blend. The women typed "linen" into her ipad, and had a range of bedding come up, but it was listed as "bed linen sets". She kept insisting it was linen, and pointing me to the shelf, but I could see on her ipad that they were cotton. When I went to the shelf to confirm by reading the packaging, she didn't come with me. I just felt very dismissed.
Bought it from M&S instead.
Retail is in dire straits. It is no different just because you have other owners.
Betteridge's Law of Headlines applies.
I would shop at John Lewis but they don’t have anything I’m looking for
A big part of the problem is that it’s not a true worker’s co-op. Look at Mondragon, and it’s retail arm Eroski, for an example of how to make it work.
Tokenize ownership and issue it to employees. Use it as collateral for financing. Issue bonds. DeFi awaits.
Great video, thank you FT
Waitrose does just sell Sainsbury’s food with Waitrose packaging. M&S sells genuinely better produce.
It's understandable to not forsee covid but to expand after brexit, and its uncertainties is a bold move
Brexit probably didn't help. I used often buy bedsheets or clothing off their online shop here in Ireland but then they shopped shipping abroad in 2021.
There are 20 places to go for discounted goods nowadays I think if they can weather the storm a bit they'll do well sticking to their existing model because nearly everything equivalent is now gone out of business.
Same here, pre their change in international orders we bought a lot from them. M&S have only got better in this regard over the same period.
At the same time, last time we were visiting the UK in store one of the partners recommended and found our 11 year old daughter (too tall for children's clothes albeit with age-typical tastes) a personal shopper who did an absolutely fantastic job and enabled us to get a full season's clothes and shoes in one shop.
Compete when you are ahead. Sanctions when your competitor is shoulder to shoulder, or ahead.
Compete is not in the empire's playbook.
11.22 Yes - We bought our first lobsters from Lidl - better value and honest! - thank You Lidl.
I not been in there is like 3 years i with John Lewis did food stuff and snaks a bakery they should use a full floor for that they would do so well and create more jobs
For all of that growth, they never left GB. They should have expanded the brand into key markets overseas.
They're too parochial. Not at all global or international in their thinking. JL's idea of an exotic night out is getting a curry at the local Indian.
Love JL/Waitrose and wish they could keep the same employee owned policy yet share with the nation and allow shared ownership with the British public... 😍
Employees do not own the business, the shares of JLP PLC are held in trust and not by the employees. The staff are employees of that PLC they are not partners in any legal sense.
Michael, Wusste Ich nicht . Das ist Echt Derbe .
Would be interesting to see how much of the profits goes to people that don’t work there. And not on pensions.
I remember there being a creperie in JL in Reading and I would always ask to go there as a kid, now its just an overpriced average cafe, rather sad.
OMG 😱 so sad for employees
the current management team are to blame
Sharon White was a disastrous chairwoman
My compensation has a significant stock component. The moment it vests I immediately sell it so that I’m not doubly exposed to my company’s performance (if things go south, my job AND my savings would be at risk). I think pensions are awful ideas for the same reason… just pay your employees more and let them take care of themselves. Plenty of companies are famously great to their employees without marrying them.
Service is for those who can overpay. Most millennials & later generations will never know how great true customer service can be. It’s not just retail this model has downgraded; also in the trend that paying anyone else to do something you should be able to do on your own as a middle class person, reserved for the elite & wealthy to pay others to do things for them. It unfortunately is extending to consulting & coaching from professionals who can offer value DIY cannot.
nice video John Lewis is usually the first place I think off when I want to buy stuff but there's know longer any real jobs or job security and young people see crime as a sense of family
I worked for Waitrose and the one year I was there, they cut the employee bonus because of poor performance so really its a façade.
they probably made those difficult to access in the first place. my ex worked there and they would dock 1/4 of the Bonus and the explanations given were laughable frankly
The word kind does not go with capitalism or business or money. The energies or qualities of business and money has nothing to do with kindness, so to put the two together is akin to blind faith
Service in Oxford Street isn’t so great, but that’s a lot to do with the customers, who aren’t into banter and interpersonal relationships with shopkeepers. Shame. The profile of the modern London customer is dull and indifferent?
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You would be a fool to be buying in John Lewis or Waitrose just because they are “nice” as per FT. Go buy the cheapest thing you get, you are consumers (the kings and queens of the market) in this crazy, costly UK.
Amazing to see so many experts in the comments 🤡
"Beloved company" yet no one is shopping there lol Nostalgia and business are fuel and fire. They need a Sharon White forward-thinking type figure 10 years before they hired a Sharon White.
It has to... cos it is the only way..... for humanity.
Personally, I think John Lewis should've not spend so much money on buildings, or whatever, but literally take Burberry off the footsie and buy it ! (And then relicense back their deals back to the likes of Japan.. like they used to... and create jobs again.... and rerun some of the mills. But to turn it back round.... and turn those factories into green ones.)
Buy a part of Burberry and have custom made items or only those items that they could buy from JL's stores... (that brings in tourists).... and then re-assess if they could maybe also then expand into countries like Japan ?... So.... Cos those who loves the British brand, would always come back. And there isn't anything that is more than JL.
They can only also turn this thing around too, if they also in some ways connect with Lloyds... and use their cards or whatever... as a service... And then also tap into India.. and open one or two basic stores there instead.. .And leverage. And then to bring in that typical middle class thing.. into both Uber Upper Middle Class of India.. as well as keeping the UK's middle class as middle class. (And people in India reveres classic British fashion and cuttings as well.) And maybe time that JL considers actual TV as well ?... In India, say.
I think that the online phenomenon is reaching saturation point. Sainsbury's came out recently and said that people were almost all back to the shops again, it's very different to buy a book or a hoover online and food, clothes, textiles and cosmetics -impulse buys. Most women I know have had so many horrible experiences buying clothes online that they've given it up. Shoes are another no-no. If you know a particular brand of soap or perfume then reordering online might work but most women like to change regularly, especially younger women. They want to browse the aisle and sniff and try. I think that it's the F.T. that's not keeping up. How about covering the move away from online shopping? Many people are making conscious efforts to shop on their local high street because we've all seen them dieing.
So now we know. There is a PR department at the FT that produces puff n fluff videos for it's cronies.
That’s the Balham Waitrose
Sharon White was an error - the notion of property rental is laughable.
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Sharon white seems to have been set up to go off the glass cliff
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It does work, but John Lewis has made some poor decisions in a modern market that need fixing. Look at the recent stories about Arizona Iced Tea, when you have the right business decisions in place and deliver a good product group, you can always win.
It's hardly kinder. John Lewis caused thousands of pounds worth of damage when installing white goods, and refused to pay more than a quarter of the cost to repair even after admitting fault. I had to take them to small claims to get the issue resolved. I've never had to do that with any other company or tradesman when mistakes are made.
Horrible company gauge prices or horrible service