Inside John Lewis (practise blog)

Inside John Lewis (Practise Blog)

Through the documentary "Inside John Lewis" I can clearly gain an understanding of how they have been one of Britain’s biggest and best known department stores for over 100 years, this documentary shows the company taking on new contemporary issues such as changing tastes and tougher competition whilst also explaining how they have battled the worst recession for 80 years. When looking into John Lewis I found a company which was much more than just a brand, John Lewis is part of people's lives, I came to this conclusion through the video in which "partners" is a commonly used phrase compared to an employee by senior members of staff. However when partners were interviewed they expressed some concern over their future, stating how John Lewis was a job for life and now there is a sense of unease.

I personally believe John Lewis have had some very important and crucial decisions to make, kick started by the recession. The main issue the company faced was the increase in costs this is primarily due to the recession and its knock-on effects, this means the purchasing of products has increased so therefor this will impact on the company's profit. This drastic reduction in profit by nearly 50% is what lead to John Lewis making some pf its employees redundant, now this for John Lewis was never heard of before, most employees thought of John Lewis as a job for life but they are now questioning this. In my opinion I feel this has major repercussions mainly involving the name of the brand and the reputation it holds, this could be tarnished if partners are concerned about the safety of their job. This is concern is shown in the documentary as David Jones the director of Partner Welfare explains how when partners were surveyed on statements such as "I feel secure in my job." partners average score dropped from 17 points to 10 points, showing concern around pay and security of their jobs.

However I also fully understand where Andy Street, the managing director of John Lewis and businessman, is coming from in the challenging times of a recession. His job is to ensure John Lewis turns its losses into profit and he has to make some decisions which some people may not like, perfectly summed up in the documentary as he says "Leadership is about making smart decisions even though they may not be the most popular ones." showing how he is thinking of the future of the business even though it may have a negative effect on certain aspects in the short term.

The main positive which came out of the documentary I felt was the expansion of one of John Lewis' lesser known areas, fashion. The recession allowed John Lewis to look into other areas of the company which were behind the times and needed a revamp. This was a perfect opportunity for growth and something Andy Street would have focussed upon, this is what lead to the building of the John Lewis store in Cardiff, the biggest John Lewis store in Wales. It cost a total of £35 million and took 8 weeks to build, during this time head office recruited experts in the field of fashion and focussed on revamping the John Lewis look which was outdated and lacked appeal to certain target audiences. Another positive of the Cardiff store was the introduction of "flexible knowledge" this involved a partner being an expert in more than one area so when certain departments were busy other could cover with he demand, this was first introduced into the Cardiff store but since has been expanded to all of the John Lewis stores. 

However I also feel that John Lewis have let down some of their partners who have potentially been at the company for up to 40 years, this commitment to the brand is what lead to John Lewis earning its reputation of looking after their partners and giving them added extras. The recession allowed for growth in the fashion departments but may have come at a cost of some partners in other departments where the demand was no longer needed.

If I were in the position of Andy Street I wouldn't have done anything different, out of a total of 1000 partners 40 were made redundant so the scale of jobs created to jobs lost allows for the pros to outweigh the cons. He had the vision to take John Lewis forward by looking at areas which could develop and thrive in todays society, altering the look and style of their fashion department was a major influence which allowed them to keep up with the times just like other high end retails stores. He also looked at the idea of downsizing, opening smaller more specialist stores for electronics and homeware products in smaller towns and cities so everyone had access to John Lewis' products, allowing the company to maximise profits and increase their sales. 

Overall when looking at all the factors I believe John Lewis is in a much better place than it was at the start of the recession,  the correct personal were hired to take the company forward and revitalise the John Lewis brand, with out them the company may have crumbled and may not even exist today.