laura whyte: rls 2014

The John Lewis Model Bringing Quality to our Partners and our Customers

Laura Whyte Personnel Director, John Lewis

Retail Leadership Summit 2014

5 February - Mumbai

“Believe me, in the next 20 or 30 years

if you want a really sound industrial

concern you will have to admit your

employees to a far larger share of the

total earnings than before. The days

when a lot of shareholders could stay

at home doing nothing and take a very

large proportion of the earnings of a

business are all over.”

Spedan Lewis to his shareholders 1918

Our business today

• 29 department stores

• 11 at home shops

• 1 flexible format

• A £1bn online business

• Herbert Parkinson

• Broadband, Financial Services

• 30,000 Partners

• Sales 2013 £4bn

• Operating profit 2012 £ £217m

• Bonus to staff 13 -20% annual pay

• over past 5 years

Purpose

Power Profit

The Partnership’s Principles

Partner

Profit Customer

Give great leadership & empower

Partners with the knowledge and

desire

to provide outstanding service

Generate incremental

sales

& profit through greater

customer loyalty

Enable the development

of deeper customer

relationships

Partner – Customer – Profit

Our Behaviours

Leadership in a Partnership framework

The behaviours reflect the critical behaviours required by current and future

leaders and the conflicting tensions that they are expected to reconcile

Vertical axis: Strategy vs. Execution

Strategic Vision Investing for longer term sustainable growth

& strong legacy

Disciplined Execution Delivery of short term profitability and

competitiveness

Enduring Legacy Retaining the core purpose and cultural spirit of the Partnership

Transformational Change Revitalising and growing the character and culture of the Partnership

Horizontal axis: Legacy vs. Change

88% response rate

Instigates real change:

Performance related pay

Development programmes

Democratic structure

Partnership in action: Partner Survey

Partnership in action: democratic engagement

The John Lewis Own Brand swimsuit campaign: Please could you confirm the stance the Partnership takes on using models smaller than UK dress size 10, and whether these models used fit the Partnership’s criteria?

Business expenses: We have recently seen a lot in the media about the abuse of financial allowances and MP’s expenses. Can Partners be reassured that controls are in place to ensure no abuse takes place in the Partnership at any level?

Plastic bags: As a responsible retailer, why are we not leading the field and taking much greater steps to reduce carrier bag usage?

Partnership in action: the journalism

Is the model a better way of doing business?

Doing the right thing for the long term

Taking decisive action – the online story

Winning Market Share

Brand

Collaboration

Now 2nd in UK Now 3rd in UK

18

Fashion

sales +9.1%

Home

sales +6.2%

EHT

sales +28.9%

Attracting new customers

19

Investing in ourselves

Over 2,000 Partners registered for an external qualification in 2012

335 Partners achieved a qualification in Distribution

215 Partners achieved a Contact Handling qualification

New JL apprenticeship programme

20

The future – redefining the department store

Kuoni travel concessions in

eight branches Joe and the Juice opened in

JL Solihull in November

Little Waitrose, JL

Watford Opening new shops

The John Lewis Model Bringing Quality to our Partners and our Customers

Laura Whyte Personnel Director, John Lewis