The Survival of John lewis through the recession
James McCallion
James McCallion
To what extent has The John Lewis Partnership's business strategy proven to have enabled the business to survive and prosper throughout the recent recessive economic trading environment more effectively than their competitors ?
Weekites
JSH
4200 words
James McCallion
Introduction - John Lewis History
John Lewis started trading in 1900 alongside M&S and Sainsbury's. What makes it unique in the retail market place is that from 1920 it has operated as an employee owned partnership with an employee profit-sharing scheme along with a representative staff council who are involved in running the business. The business is focussed on delivering good customer service through its involved and rewarded staff or partners.
The John Lewis Partnership now consists of over 70,000 employees who are all partners in the business of 231 Waitrose stores, 28 department stores and online services. It is this unique partnership that lies at the heart of their commercial success over the last 5 years.
With every one of the 70,000 employees receiving the same percentage annual bonus, there is a strong motivation to work as a team and deliver what is necessary to survive the economic climate.
From 1995 – 2006 where the UK economy grew significantly John Lewis became synonymous with providing good customer service and its policy of "never knowingly undersold" provided consumer confidence that whilst not the cheapest retailer, customers would still feel comfortable that they were not being significantly over charged.
In the latter half of this decade, the American Banking system suffered from a liquidity shortfall which had negative ramifications worldwide. The world economy and stock markets fell along with many housing markets. These issues lead to a recession in the UK that resulted in 6 successive quarters of contracted growth. The recession resulted in the
Government borrowing a staggering £178 billion (12.6% of
James McCallion
To what extent has The John Lewis Partnership's business strategy proven to have enabled the business to survive and prosper throughout the recent recessive economic trading environment more effectively than their competitors ?
Weekites
JSH
4200 words
James McCallion
Introduction - John Lewis History
John Lewis started trading in 1900 alongside M&S and Sainsbury's. What makes it unique in the retail market place is that from 1920 it has operated as an employee owned partnership with an employee profit-sharing scheme along with a representative staff council who are involved in running the business. The business is focussed on delivering good customer service through its involved and rewarded staff or partners.
The John Lewis Partnership now consists of over 70,000 employees who are all partners in the business of 231 Waitrose stores, 28 department stores and online services. It is this unique partnership that lies at the heart of their commercial success over the last 5 years.
With every one of the 70,000 employees receiving the same percentage annual bonus, there is a strong motivation to work as a team and deliver what is necessary to survive the economic climate.
From 1995 – 2006 where the UK economy grew significantly John Lewis became synonymous with providing good customer service and its policy of "never knowingly undersold" provided consumer confidence that whilst not the cheapest retailer, customers would still feel comfortable that they were not being significantly over charged.
In the latter half of this decade, the American Banking system suffered from a liquidity shortfall which had negative ramifications worldwide. The world economy and stock markets fell along with many housing markets. These issues lead to a recession in the UK that resulted in 6 successive quarters of contracted growth. The recession resulted in the
Government borrowing a staggering £178 billion (12.6% of