Our thanks to Chris Hooper at John Lewis for both hosting and presenting at this year’s AGM. We whistled through the formalities in 15 Minutes, and got on to the interesting part of the evening.
Chris gave a very frank and informative insight into the demographic structure of John Lewis and Waitrose. The Partnership Council is the top decision making body in JLP and that comprises staff from throughout the business from the board to the shop floor.
Chris also gave us an in depth insight into the realities of retail trading in an online world.
My take on it was:-
- John Lewis have a very loyal Customerbase
- Brand Loyalty is key to customer decision making both online and in store
- Competition is bringing prices down
- John Lewis is rising to that Challenge by streamlining costs
- John Lewis continue to open new stores the most recent being in Birmingham
- There is a correlation between having New Stores and a local presence and the perceived trust factors online.
Long may it last, John Lewis are important to Welwyn and Hatfield, creating jobs, an out of London Shopping experience and a sense of stability and belonging.
Thank you Chris.
Ash Bhatt, one of Chris’s Team has joined our Chamber Exec Team. We are delighted to welcome him on board.
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