John Lewis
The John Lewis Partnership is the UK’s largest employee owned business and employees over 85,000 people. John Lewis & Partners began trading over 150 years ago in 1864 on Oxford Street, and is now one of the largest department stores in the UK with 50 John Lewis & Partners shops.
John Lewis focus’ on customer satisfaction, the brand is perceived as being high quality and consumers are re-assured by the price promise ‘Never knowingly undersold’. However in 2019 John Lewis posted their first ever financial loss and with the competitors of the brand falling in to administration the future seems uncertain. John Lewis is looking at various different strategies to avoid the same trap as its competitors and to this end in February 2020 a new Chair was appointed.
On the 16th October 2020 following a difficult trading year John Lewis launched its ‘Partnership Plan’ which lays out the strategic plan of the brand in the coming 5 years:
Assignment
You are to undertake research into John Lewis and it’s competitors within the industry and produce a report for the new Chair discussing the 2020 Partnership Plan and using theoretical models as reference points. Your report should include but is not limited to the following:
Using one strategic model of your choice evaluate the strategy of John Lewis. Discuss if the business model and strategy of John Lewis is sustainable going forward and what, if any changes you consider necessary.
(30% – approximately 800 words)
Critically evaluate how the balanced scorecard model would improve the performance of John Lewis, adapting the theoretical model as you wish. Discuss how this may improve the long term sustainability of the brand.
(35% – approximately 950 words)
Evaluate how John Lewis should use bench marking going forward to improve their competitiveness as a brand.
