Londoner’s Diary
Beloved British department store John Lewis is taking flak today on two fronts. Traditionalists are annoyed that the family-favourite shop has started selling high-end sex toys, claiming this is no longer “taboo”. Plus a report in the Daily Telegraph today revealed that an internal John Lewis magazine titled had promoted breast-binding for trans-identifying children, prompting some activists to call for a boycott of its stores.
What is going on at the 160-year-old company? Insiders speak of a “culture clash” between progressives and traditionalists who are wrestling over the future of the brand.
Unlike many of its competitors, the John Lewis Partnership is an employee-owned business in which staff are granted shares in the company and can vote on decisions. It is the UK’s largest employee-owned business with 80,000 “partners” participating in the company’s process of internal democracy.
“There are a lot of legacy members, old members,” a source familiar with the business says, “and so there is a culture clash going on between people wanting to innovate and those who think it should be the same as it was in the past, when they were kids.”
Alongside the clashing views of partners, there is also a question mark over the leadership of the business. Dame Sharon White, chair of the John Lewis Partnership, announced in October last year that she would be stepping down at the end of her five-year term following multi-million pound losses and abortive attempt to break the partnership model and sell a stake of the business to outside investors. White will step down in February 2025, but until then carries on in post.
As well as product ventures like sex toys, John Lewis has been attempting to increase profits with a property scheme in which the space above some stores will be turned into rental accommodation.
While White has attracted criticism, the role of chair can be closer to that of a politician than an executive. It is not clear who will succeed her, but they will likely want to clarify the chain’s identity and plan for growth.
“It feels like lurching from one idea to another,” says a former partner, “they need a brand plan that is authentic.”
