Case study: John Lewis, Waitrose and Ocado, distinctively successful

Gill Christy

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

    Abstract

    John Lewis opened his Oxford Street department store for business in 1864. In its early days it was a traditional family-owned business, and his two sons followed him into the firm. John Spedan Lewis, later to found the John Lewis Partnership, became Director of a second store (Peter Jones in Sloane Square) in 1905. Possibly influenced by the egalitarian social and political movements of the early 20th century, he wanted to change the way in which the business was managed and to involve its employees more centrally in its running. In 1920 he launched an employee profit-sharing scene at the Peter Jones store. His views were not accepted by his father and initially caused a rift in the running of the business, but father and son were reconciled before the former's death in 1928, when Spedan inherited the whole enterprise. The following year Spedan Lewis drew up the First Trust Settlement which left him in control of the business but gave employees shares in its profits. Shortly before the Second World War the business acquired the Waite, Rose and Taylor grocery stores, and in 1940 bought the Selfridge Provincial Stores Group. In 1950 the Second Trust Settlement created the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) as it is today, owned and run entirely by its employees. John Spedan Lewis died in 1963.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationManagement and organisational behaviour
    EditorsL. Mullins
    Place of PublicationHarlow
    PublisherFinancial Times Prentice Hall
    Pages629-632
    Number of pages4
    ISBN (Print)9780273708889
    Publication statusPublished - 2007

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