Employee ownership is the heart and soul of John Lewis – losing that would destroy it

‘The brand has long attracted shoppers to city centres, and the so-called ‘Waitrose effect’ is believed to impact house prices.’ John Lewis in High Wycombe. Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/REX/Shutterstock

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has long been held up as an example of how business should be done. Back in the early 2010s, David Cameron and Nick Clegg’s coalition government used it as the poster child for “responsible capitalism”. In fact, Clegg, the then deputy prime minister, had a vision for a “John Lewis economy”, as he believed employee ownership was a “hugely underused tool in unlocking growth”.

Fast forward a decade, and John Lewis is looking into diluting its employee-owned structure by selling a stake in order to raise funds to invest in the business. While the need to invest is paramount right now in retail, as businesses look to compete with the technological might of Amazon, tampering with John Lewis’s partnership model would be a huge mistake.