Imagine being more than just an employee – having a personal stake in the success of the company you work for. That’s the incredible thing about employee ownership. It’s a way of working that flips the conventional workplace script, creating a culture where everyone pulls together because the success of the business truly benefits everyone.

There are over 74,000 people who work at the John Lewis Partnership and they are all co-owners of our business. Together we operate as the largest employee-owned business in the UK, a shining example of what can happen when people come together to build something extraordinary.

Our founder, John Spedan Lewis, believed in “industrial democracy”, and a fairer way of doing business, where employees shared knowledge, power and profit. These are still the solid principles that guide our employee-owned business model more than 100 years since we were formed.

What is an employee ownership trust?

At the heart of employee ownership is an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). Think of it as a safety net of shared success. An EOT is a structure where a trust owns a big part—or all—of the company on behalf of the employees.

This means you don’t have to worry about managing shares individually. Instead, the trust ensures that all Partners benefit as the company grows. It’s about creating long-term stability and fostering a sense of shared purpose. It’s business with a heart, where everyone in the team wins together.

What are the benefits of joining an employee-owned business?

Working for an employee-owned business isn’t just about clocking in and out. It’s about being part of something bigger and reaping the rewards of collective success.

John Spedan Lewis had an extraordinary vision for how his business could make a difference – both to the lives of his workers and the wider community. He knew the best way to do this was to give power to his staff and make them more than employees.

Much may have changed since 1918, but our Partnership still places the utmost importance on the happiness and prosperity of our Partners, customers and the wider world.

Here are the key benefits that set apart JLP’s business model, making it a happier place to work:

• Share in the wins: When the business thrives, so do you. Profits made by our business are invested back into our Partner’s salaries and other benefits like pensions and self-development.
• Feel Connected: Knowing you have a stake in the business will ignite your motivation and passion for what you do. Together we can shape the future success of the Partnership.
• Have a Voice: The John Lewis Partnership operates on democratic principles, with inclusive decision-making for all areas of the business, so your ideas and opinion matters.
• Greater Security: Decisions are made with a focus on our Partners wellbeing and with long term success in mind.
• Make a difference: Our Partnership seeks to make the world a happier place in any way we can. We take responsibility for our impact on the planet and champion the charitable work of our Partners, helping to improve lives for both local and global communities.

Democracy For All at the John Lewis Partnership

Democracy is essential to the day to day running and future vision of the John Lewis Partnership. This means that all of our Partners can have their say on key decisions and help steer the ship.

The business still operates under a unique constitution set out by our founder, which guides how we share knowledge, power, and profit.

This is achieved through our three governing authorities – the Partnership Council, the Chairman and the Partnership Board.

Over 600 Partners from across the business are democratically elected to have a voice across our Forums, at our Council and on our Board. Together they have the opportunity to shape how the company is run, offer support and challenge to leadership when necessary and make sure we stay true to our values.

Ever wish you had a platform to share your thoughts at work? At JLP, the Gazette is an internal publication which reports on the business, and is where Partners can be free to speak their minds.

This weekly in-house magazine is circulated both in print and online. It sets its own editorial agenda and has a unique, independent role to ensure knowledge is shared through journalism, about the business to all Partners.

It is a place for open conversations, sharing ideas and engaging with the Partnership’s direction, serving as a reminder that every voice counts.

This level of transparency and communication is a big reason why the Gazette was written into our constitution and has since become the UK’s longest-standing internal publication, which has never changed its name since launch.

Discover more about becoming a Partner

When you become a Partner at the John Lewis Partnership, you’re more than an employee. You’re joining a team where your contribution directly impacts our success. It’s a place that values shared responsibility and puts people at the heart of everything it does.

If you’re looking for a career that offers a sense of belonging, personal development, and the chance to be part of something truly meaningful, this is the place for you.

Ready to explore what being a Partner is all about? Read more about our Partnership, discover our Partner stories or browse our latest job vacancies.

• £114m increase in pay for 2025 on top of £116m increase in 2024 – reaching £230m over two years
• JLP will raise the rate of pay for shop Partners by 7.4% this year
• Partners who make an exceptional contribution to the Partnership will receive an additional 2% – taking potential increases to 9.4%
• 99.3% of all Partners will receive a pay increase
• Over the past three years the Partnership has increased total pay by £295m

The John Lewis Partnership has today announced a £114m investment in pay for 65,000 Partners across the business this year.

Seventy-seven per cent (£88m) of the pay investment is voluntary and is beyond the requirements of the National Minimum Wage.

From 1 April, the minimum rate of pay for Partners outside London will increase from £11.55 to £12.40 an hour and from £12.89 to £13.85 for Partners within the M25.

Over the last three years John Lewis Partnership has invested a total of £295m in Partner pay  and the standard hourly rate for Partners in our shops has risen by 25 per cent.

Rates of pay increase to £13.39 per hour for those Partners who gain enhanced skills and take on specialist roles in our shops, rising to £14.96 inside the M25.

Alongside this, Partners who have contributed ‘exceptionally’ to the business will earn additional pay on top of the standard pay increase. This means a customer-facing Partner could receive a pay increase of 9.4%.

The investment in pay comes on top of a distinctive and generous benefits package, which includes:

• 25% off most purchases in John Lewis and 20% off purchases at Waitrose
• A competitive pension scheme with the Partnership contributing up to 12% of pay
• Life assurance scheme, up to four times annual pay
• Equal parenthood leave
• Generous annual holiday allowance
• Wide-ranging wellbeing offer
• Subsidised holidays in the Partnership’s hotels
• £60 a year towards the cost of event tickets such as concerts and festivals and £250 a year to help towards learning a new skill or exploring an interest

Jo Rackham, Interim Executive Director, People, said:

“Our Partners are co-owners of our business and their service to our customers is what sets us apart, so we have chosen to make another very significant investment in Partner pay this year.

“This signals our continued commitment to our Partners’ pay, taking our total investment over the last three years to £295m.”

TRANSFORMATION DELIVERING SOLID PROGRESS

• Profit before tax and exceptional items¹ tripled from £42m to £126m
• Profit before tax grew from £56m to £97m, up 73%
• Sales² rose by 3% year-on-year, up from £12.4bn to £12.8bn
• Operating profit margin³ improved to 2.0%, up 0.9 percentage points year-on-year
• Customer numbers grew by 2% over the year
• Cash generated from operations⁴ increased by £99m to £532m, up 23%
• Repaid £300m Bond from cash reserves resulting in the lowest borrowings since 2002
• Strong balance sheet with total liquidity of £1.5bn
• Investing a further £114m in Partners’ pay and up to £600m in business transformation; after careful consideration, we have prioritised this investment over sharing a Bonus this year

Jason Tarry, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “These are solid results, which show that our customers are responding well to our investments in quality products, value and service. We have made good progress with much more still to do.

“Looking forward, I see significant opportunity for growth from both our Waitrose and John Lewis brands. Our focus will be on enhancing what makes these brands truly special for our customers. This will involve considerable catch-up investment in our stores and supply chain, underpinned by a strong focus on the core elements of great retail, delivered by our brilliant Partners.

“Our distinct Partnership model stands out as a key competitive differentiator, enabling us to adopt a long-term perspective. I am confident with the transformation momentum in the Partnership, we remain well placed to drive further growth in the year ahead and over the longer term – creating a Partnership that our customers and Partners are truly proud of.”

Nish Kankiwala, CEO of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “I want to thank all of our Partners for their incredible hard work this year and our customers for their loyalty, both of which led to continued momentum through the year and especially over Christmas. Tripling our profit is a significant testament to the progress of our transformation – focused on delighting customers while continuing to deliver efficiency improvements, thereby laying the foundations for long-term sustainable growth.

“Both brands are showing good momentum. Our strategic investments in product innovation, quality, service and value have yielded significant improvements in customer satisfaction, attracting more customers to shop with us.

“As I step down after two years as CEO, which has been an incredible privilege, I want to express my gratitude to our Partners who have shown amazing commitment to our refreshed plan. I am confident in the Partnership’s continued success given the momentum we have built and the opportunities that lie ahead.”

The John Lewis Partnership, home to Waitrose and John Lewis, reports a significant improvement in financial performance for the full year 2024/25 as profit before tax and exceptional items tripled from £42m to £126m.

Our full year performance demonstrates solid progress on our multi-year transformation plan as we maintain our focus on ’Brilliant Retail’.

Profit before tax increased by 73% from £56m to £97m. Partnership sales were £12.8bn, up 3% year-on-year. Operating profit margin increased 0.9 percentage points to 2.0% as our sharp focus on productivity showed benefits. Cash generated from operations was £532m, up £99m (23%) year-on-year.

More customers shopped with our brands this year, up 2%, and we saw growth in our loyalty schemes: My Waitrose up 7% to 4.6 million active members and My John Lewis up 11% to 3.7 million.

We invested a third more in 2024/25 in our business than the prior year and intend to step up our transformation plan in the year ahead, backed by planned self-funded investment of £600m. We will continue to invest in improving the customer experience through store refurbishments and openings, technology upgrades and supply chain modernisation.

Our balance sheet remains strong. Total liquidity closed the year at £1.5bn and we have the lowest levels of borrowings since 2002 after repaying a £300m bond in January 2025. We made recurring productivity savings of £255m this year, while growing customer satisfaction, with total benefits of £667m realised since 2021, on track towards our £900m target by January 2026.

As employee-owners, we have a shared responsibility to ensure the Partnership is sustainable over the long term. We’ve consistently said that at this point in our transformation, this is best served by investing in our retail businesses and in Partners’ base pay. So after careful consideration, we do not believe it would be right to award a Partnership Bonus this year. We are increasing overall pay by £114m in 2025, building on the £116m increase in 2024.

Waitrose

Sales grew 4.4% to £8.0bn and volumes were up 2.6% as Waitrose continued its positive momentum. Investment in Waitrose’s quality food proposition and lower prices – together with further improvements in technology and availability – helped drive this growth. Adjusted operating profit was £227m, up £122m as sales growth combined with productivity improvements delivered profit momentum. Operating margin doubled year-on-year to 3.0%.

Our focus on being the home for food lovers through innovation yielded strong results through:

• Investing in our ranges including the relaunch of Waitrose No.1 contributed to a 5.9% increase in sales of Waitrose own brand products. We also forged successful partnerships with exciting brands including Ottolenghi, WildFarmed and Gymkhana;
• Continuing our focus on lowering prices with £61m invested during the year, which means we have invested £150m since introducing New Lower Prices in 2023;
• Winning more Compassion in World Farming awards than any other supermarket and winning the best customer service award from The Grocer for the fourth year in a row;
• Opening the first Waitrose shop in six years with a convenience store in Hampton Hill, London, and revealing plans for a pipeline of new stores in the future;
• Refurbishing 14 Waitrose stores with new concepts as part of our store modernisation programme, delivering strong sales growth; and
• Growing on-demand grocery sales by 110% in the year and entering a new partnership with Just Eat, adding to Uber Eats and Deliveroo. We are also reaching even more customers through expanded relationships with Welcome Break and Shell.

John Lewis

Sales were in line with last year, at £4.8bn and ahead of the market with momentum building across the year. Adjusted operating profit was £45m. This year has been pivotal for our business in what remains a challenging environment for the sector. We have taken steps to invest in the performance of John Lewis. Our focus has been on providing even better value through the return of the Never Knowingly Undersold promise, improved customer service and better product ranges.

The strategy has shown early success, with the business experiencing contrasting halves within the year. The first half saw a 3% decrease in sales and a £24m drop in adjusted operating profit due to investments in growth. Marked improvement in the second half led to a 3% increase in sales and £8m growth in adjusted operating profit, creating momentum for the future.

John Lewis made major strides forward in the year by:

• Relaunching Never Knowingly Undersold, with improvements seen across all key metrics – from driving incremental sales and attracting new customers, to a 6pts gain in the second half on our ‘net promoter score’ and better value for money perceptions;
• Good Christmas performance with 4.1% year-on-year sales growth over the eight weeks of peak, industry celebrated Christmas advertising campaigns and ‘Brand Buzz’, as measured by YouGov, at its highest for four years;
• Investing across our store estate, attracting customers to brand new Beauty Halls in Oxford Street, High Wycombe and Cheadle; new Tech concepts in computing and exciting branded shop fits across Home and Fashion; as well as forging partnerships with brands including Waterstones, Jamie Oliver and Caffè Nero;
• Introducing new and in-demand brands, with more than 200 launches from the likes of Marc Jacobs and Sign of the Times in Fashion, Made and Ruggable in Home, the Oura Ring in Tech and Trinny London in Beauty;
• Capitalising on retail technology – including digital headsets, mobile payments and mobile ticket printing – which are improving customer service and efficiency; and
• Enhancing omnichannel through ‘deliver from store’ fulfillment – where online orders can be shipped by our stores and not just our warehouses – which is improving availability and sales.

Building complementary businesses for the long term

John Lewis Money, our financial services business, launched new products and payment methods, generating additional revenue and enhancing our retail businesses. The Partnership Card customer base grew 6% in the year. We also advanced plans to optimise the value of our property estate by building new rental homes, receiving planning approval for our Bromley site, with two more sites in the planning process.

Outlook

While we expect the macroeconomic environment to continue to be challenging for our customers and our business, we are confident in our strategy. Our improved cash generation and strong liquidity allow us to invest significantly in the year ahead – a planned £600m – to enhance our customer proposition.

We are making solid progress and have much more to achieve. By relentlessly focusing on our customers’ needs, delivered by our brilliant Partners, we will pursue the headroom for growth that exists in our retail brands. We expect to see a further increase in profitability in 2025/26.

At the John Lewis Partnership, people are everything. That’s why we’ve made our new careers site as accessible as possible, so it’s a joy to visit – for everyone.  

Taking website accessibility to the next level meant being curious. It meant working closely with our website developers to find the most cutting-edge features available.  

We wanted to remove as many barriers as we possibly could, encouraging online applications for our jobs from people of all abilities. Here’s how we’ve done just that. 

Accessibility settings 

Look to the top right of your screen and you’ll see the universal access icon (a human figure in a circle). Simply click on this circle, and you’ll have access to our accessibility settings, with options to select an alternative high contrast theme and text size.  

These settings are applied in an instant once clicked, no matter what device you’re using. They’re integrated completely with our website so there’s no need to mess around with browser settings or download any plugins. 

High contrast theme 

The first option on our accessibility setting toolbar is a high contrast theme. As if by magic, this transforms the colours that appear on every page, making the site much easier to read for those with low vision or colour vision deficiencies.  

Large text setting 

There’s also an option within our accessibility toolbar to increase the text size on the website. This is a really helpful feature for those with a visual disability or cognitive impairment, as it makes it easy to read and concentrate on different sections of text. 

Keyboard navigation 

Our careers site has an optimal set up for visually impaired people who are using screen readers. Logical tabbing sequences and clear focus indicators mean links, buttons, menus, and forms can all be navigated easily with a keyboard. 

Links, imagery, and form fields are also tagged with descriptive text to further improve the website experience for our screen reader users. 

Video captions 

Videos across the website are presented with captions. These narrate the audio for those with a hearing impairment. We know this feature will also be welcomed by those on the move who don’t have a pair of headphones to hand. 

Responsive design 

Our careers site has been built to be highly readable for candidates of all abilities. It features high contrast content, generous spacing of elements and accessible forms, which adapt to a variety of devices and screen sizes. 

We’d love to hear about your experience using the site and whether you feel there’s anything else we can do to improve it further. To give feedback or request more support, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly recruitment team. 

You might also wish to take a look at our accessibility and diversity pages, to learn more about more of the fantastic inclusivity initiatives at the John Lewis Partnership. 

In 2023, we became the 10,000th signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant as part of our commitment to improve the lives of service people and their families. More recently, we’ve introduced an internal Veteran and Military Families Support Community which connects Partners from across the business who may have a partner, spouse, parent, sibling or other family member who is serving or has served in the military.

The Partnership has a strong heritage of supporting the armed forces and, as a Purpose-driven business, we pride ourselves on inclusiveness. We’re committed to ensuring we provide opportunities to people from all backgrounds, including those with links to the military.

We have many current Partners (employees) working in various roles across the business including Project Managers, Senior Leaders, HGV Drivers and more. There are plenty of opportunities for those leaving service to transfer their skills into the Partnership.

But don’t just take our word for it. We recently caught up with some of our Partners who wanted to share their own personal experiences of leaving the Armed Forces and finding a career in the Partnership. 

Gary’s Story

Regional Distribution Centre Planning Manager

After not knowing what I wanted to do for a job after I left the RAF, a couple of fellow Veterans had just secured warehouse jobs with Waitrose. I originally joined on the 6am – 2pm morning shift (which suited me at the time as I was able to pick my young children up from school). I thought, this will work in the short term. I have regular hours on a shift that suits my family and will help whilst I work out what career path I want to follow.

I quickly recognised that there are many similarities between the Armed Forces and the Partnership; structure, solid ethics, rules, great training, development and teamwork.

I honestly never saw it as a long term career but, 33-years later, the Partnership has offered me wonderful opportunities and support. From training and development, to job variety and a great team ethic.

Angela’s Story

Physician

I joined the RAF in the 1980s as a doctor. I served in many locations, and latterly at RAF Brize Norton. For the past 12 years I have been the Partnership’s doctor.

I have found the same ethics, teamwork and camaraderie in the Partnership as I valued in the military.

I have met many ex-service personnel in a wide variety of roles since joining the Partnership. I would recommend the John Lewis Partnership as a great fit for those who are looking for a follow on career after serving in the military.

Aaron’s Story

Supermarket Assistant

I got injured in Afghanistan in September 2010. I lost my sergeant and one of my closest friends in the incident. I was left with a fractured spine and hip. Very lucky it was only just that. I had my spine fused and my hip pinned, which meant in November 2012 I was Medically Discharged from the army for my injuries and having PTSD.

I applied for a job at Waitrose in the middle of 2013 – it was only meant to be a stop gap – but 11 years later, I am still here!

The Partnership as a whole have been fantastic when it comes to helping me, especially as I can have some very up and down days.

Winter months are the worst for me, as it really affects my spine and hip. There are many people within my branch who don’t really know my story, as I suffer from survivor’s guilt. But I thought I would write this to show that the Partnership is a brilliant place for all ex-service people.

Lance’s Story

Supermarket Assistant

I’m an army veteran and have worked at Waitrose Cheltenham for 8-years. I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm for wines and interacting with our customers.

I was originally commissioned into the Grenadier Guards and then spent 26-years in the Army Reserve and served in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. I then became Commandant of Gloucestershire Army Cadet Force.

I was, until recently, Chairman of Wessex Reserve Forces & Cadets Association which promotes the Armed Forces Covenant in the South West of England and I’m currently involved in four veterans associations and charities alongside my work at the Partnership.

The Nero Group, the family owned and operated premium coffee house business behind Caffè Nero, has today announced new partnerships with Waitrose and John Lewis.

Building on their successful relationship established in 2021, Waitrose and the Nero Group have come together and developed a new cafe concept which will initially launch in five Waitrose stores. The cafes will offer customers a menu with quality food and recipes from Waitrose and coffee roasted specially for Waitrose by The Nero Roasting Company.

There is also the opening of the first Caffè Nero in a John Lewis store, in White City, London. The 1500 sq ft store will seat 72 people and will offer the full range of Caffè Nero’s premium speciality coffees and its deli food. Customers can also expect the same warm welcoming experience they would receive from any Caffè Nero store on the high street.

The first Waitrose stores to offer the new cafes will be Billericay, Godalming, Keynsham, Locks Heath and Stroud. The new Waitrose café concept provides customers with a full sit in café experience.

Collaboration between The Nero Group and Waitrose started back in 2021. Since then the Nero Roasting Company has been supplying Waitrose’s 9 million myWaitrose loyalty customers with high quality roasted and blended coffee designed especially for them.

“Our partnership with Waitrose continues to build and we’ve been delighted with the close working relationship we have grown. We have always seen the potential to deepen that relationship further and the launch of the new cafes in Waitrose is a key step in that process, as is widening the scope of our relationship with our first Caffè Nero store within a John Lewis store.

I’m excited that customers can enjoy the hospitality and premium coffee of a Caffè Nero within the unique shopping experience of John Lewis. It’s a perfect pairing and there is still so much scope for our partnership to continue to grow”.

Will Stratton- Morris, Caffè Nero CEO UK

“We’re excited to build on our successful partnership with the Nero Group with the launch of our new cafes. The initial tranche of five cafes will offer the best of Waitrose food together with coffee from The Nero Roasting Company, in a welcoming environment, served by our brilliant Waitrose Partners. Our stores are hubs for local communities across the country and we know our customers love to have the option of enjoying a coffee, snack or meal after their shop.”

Charlotte Di Cello, Commercial Director for Waitrose

Waitrose today opened its first store in six years in Hampton Hill, London, and announced a further push into the convenience market by building on partnerships with Welcome Break and Shell.

Welcome Break

We’re targeting more new locations under our franchise with Welcome Break. New stores are opening on the A14 in Spaldwick, Cambridgeshire this month and on the M1 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, as part of a brand new Welcome Break motorway services in January. A third location will open in 2025 with more planned if successful.

We have worked in partnership with Welcome Break since 2009 and at present trade Little Waitrose from 27 of its motorway service areas. The new stores will be the first we’ve opened with them for eleven years.

Shell

Additionally, Waitrose has now reached more than 100 Shell forecourt shops it supplies throughout the UK, with plans to add to further new locations in 2025.

Waitrose Hampton Hill

The two extended partnerships come as we open our first new Waitrose shop in six years with a new convenience shop in Hampton Hill in south west London. It will become the 47th Waitrose-operated convenience shop.

Whilst focus will initially be on opening smaller, more typical convenience stores of 3,000 sq ft, like Hampton Hill, we’re also looking at opportunities for larger convenience stores around double that size too.

The Hampton Hill store also signals the role our partnerships with Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat will continue to play in reaching a wider audience as it becomes the first Waitrose convenience shop to feature a hatch to allow delivery riders to make collections more easily.

The hatches are being trialled with a view to them becoming a key feature of Waitrose shops with average weekly on-demand grocery sales currently up by 115% compared to this time last year.

“The long associated stereotypes of food at forecourts and service stations are becoming a thing of the past – expectation has moved on and customers are rightfully demanding more. They want great tasting, quality food no matter where they are. Through new store openings and strategic partnerships we will continue to evolve our shops to get better and better, whilst reaching new locations that help bring Waitrose great quality, service and value closer to more customers.”

James Bailey, Executive Director for Waitrose

“We’re delighted to be opening Little Waitrose at our Spaldwick services on the A14. This will be our first Little Waitrose in a forecourt environment and a fantastic addition to the local area. Customers will now be able to stop off on their journey and select from a great range of quality Waitrose products. Our partnership with Waitrose has been incredibly prosperous and we look forward to opening more Little Waitrose stores in the coming years across the Welcome Break network.”

Adrian Grimes, Commercial Director for Welcome Break

About Waitrose

Run by over 45,000 passionate Partners, Waitrose has been serving customers for 120 years and offers extraordinary products in more than 300 shops and on Waitrose.com. We are committed to selling products which have been responsibly sourced, grown using the very best sustainable farming methods, some of which are grown or trialled on our very own farm, the Leckford Estate. In 2024, Waitrose was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment to be Grocers and Wine & Spirits Merchant to His Majesty King Charles III.

About Welcome Break

Welcome Break is one of the UK’s leading motorway service operators, running 59 service areas and 31 hotels up and down the country. With 24-hour fuel courts, EV charging, and world-class food and retail brands including Waitrose, Starbucks, KFC, and Burger King, we welcome over 85 million customers every year.

Our 2024 Black Friday event has been turbocharged by the reintroduction of our Never Knowingly Undersold brand promise. This has resulted in over 100,000 price reductions since it launched on 9 September.

The combination of Black Friday and Never Knowingly Undersold has helped fuel a 73% year-on-year increase in Google searches for John Lewis Black Friday deals, making us one of the top searched retailers in the UK.

We’re continuing to match 25 major competitors throughout Black Friday and all their associated deals and discounts.

A £400m investment in our distribution centres

Investment in our brand’s supply chain and distribution has been vital to providing a seamless multi-channel shopping experience for customers who have been able to take advantage of Black Friday deals earlier than ever.

Sitting at the heart of the John Lewis operation, £400m has been injected into our distribution centre campus in Magna Park and Fenny Lock in Milton Keynes to deliver a best-in-class infrastructure.

On average, 82% of all products go through the Magna Park and Fenny Lock distribution centres, which cover over 3 million sq ft and employ 1,350 Partners.

Customer parcels dispatched ever 2.1 seconds

Our team estimates that 17 million products will be picked, packed and dispatched in the run up to Christmas – with a customer parcel being sent out every 2.1 seconds over this period.

Delivery-wise, our two-person delivery drivers will make 375,000 larger item deliveries in the run up to Christmas. Meanwhile, next day click and collect is available at 16,000 locations across the country, and 40% of orders reach customers in this way.

Magna Park and Fenny Lock represent a step-change our commitment to technological innovation. A new automated picking solution at the warehouse in Fenny Lock features the tallest autonomous robots in Western Europe.

At 10 metres high, these robots have already delivered £1m in tangible benefits and a 75% improvement in storage capacity.

“Customers are increasingly looking for quality products at attractive prices – especially when thinking about gifts for their loved ones – and we are delighted so many have already made the most of our amazing offers.

Our ambition is to establish John Lewis as the retailer of choice for Black Friday purchases. We’re optimistic that our combination of outstanding range and seamless customer experience, supported by our modernised Never Knowingly Undersold price promise, will help us to achieve this.”

Naomi Simcock, Operations Director at John Lewis

About the John Lewis Partnership

The John Lewis Partnership owns and operates two of Britain’s best-loved retail brands – John Lewis and Waitrose. Started as a radical experiment over a century ago, the Partnership is now the largest employee-owned business in the UK, with 70,000 employees who are all Partners in the business.

The Partnership is purpose-driven, existing to create a fairer and more sustainable future for our Partners, customers, suppliers and communities. Our Purpose not only inspires our principles, drives our decisions and acts as our guide to be a force for good, it steers us to do things differently and better – all in service of creating a happier world for everyone and everything we touch.

John Lewis operates 34 shops across the UK as well as johnlewis.com. Waitrose has more than 300 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 59 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. The retailer’s omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, and specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine.

Today we are unveiling the latest phase of our £800m store makeover plans for John Lewis. This will see a huge investment in our new look beauty halls and an exciting partnership with Jamie Oliver Cookery School.

Bigger and better beauty halls

Our flagship John Lewis store on Oxford Street, as well as stores in High Wycombe and Cheadle, are the first to benefit from significant investment with brand new and bigger Beauty Halls.

Beyond beauty, Oxford Street has had significant improvements to all corners of its six floors including home, tech, jewellery, large electricals, and more.

John Lewis is the UK’s leading quality beauty retailer, thanks to our strong presence both in stores and online, along with our commitment to offering expert advice from our team of beauty professionals.

John Lewis beauty sales in the first half of this year were up almost 7% on the same time last year.

Jamie Oliver cookery school

We’re also announcing today a partnership with Britain’s best known chef Jamie Oliver, to bring his new flagship Cookery School and Cafe to John Lewis Oxford Street in spring 2025.

Spanning over 4,600 sq ft, the school will have two classrooms hosting over 40 lessons as well as a 50-seat cafe. As part of his mission to teach children to cook, Jamie will continue to provide free cookery lessons for children during the school holidays.

The opening of Waterstones books in John Lewis Oxford Street earlier this month forms part of an £800m injection in John Lewis’ offer to customers over four years.

“The buzz is back in John Lewis and we’re giving our customers even more reasons to shop in our brilliant stores. We’re backing ourselves with significant investment to ensure customers get the exceptional quality, outstanding service, and competitive prices they love about our unique brand.”

Peter Ruis, Executive Director for John Lewis

“I’m delighted to partner with John Lewis to bring our unique Cookery School to life in a flagship location in Central London. This is the next step in growing the footprint of the Jamie Oliver Cookery School across the UK and internationally and central to making Jamie’s stripped back, chef-inspired food accessible to everyone.”

Kevin Styles, Jamie Oliver Group CEO

“John Lewis’ continued investment in Oxford Street and the West End shows that London is a leading location for beauty and fashion retail.

The 2025 opening of the new Jamie Oliver Cookery School and the recent opening of Waterstones will bring an exciting new element to the John Lewis Oxford Street flagship store, improving the shopping and leisure experience for Londoners and tourists alike.

This is exactly the kind of investment we like to see as we start the project of regenerating Oxford Street and continue building a better and more prosperous London for everyone.”

Howard Dawber, Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth

John Lewis Oxford Street

Today saw the culmination of a £6.5m upgrade of our Oxford Street store to make it a shopping destination for Londoners and tourists visiting one of the world’s most famous streets. The store celebrates its 160 year anniversary with:

• A new, bigger Beauty Hall – this now has 41 beauty counters and shop-in-shop concepts, a 24% increase in footprint, and 175 beauty brands, an increase of 15%. Brands new to the store include The Inkey List, Mac, Skin+Me, Nudestix, and The Ordinary. The revitalisation of the Beauty Hall provides customers with the latest and best counters and services from all of our brands. Customers will also be able to access a huge range of services across beauty, skincare and haircare.

• Fragrance – now has its own beautiful dedicated space, with Kilian, Parfum de Marly, and Loewe making their John Lewis Oxford Street debut.

• A new world of haircare – brands including Dyson, Shark, GHD, will join the likes of Wella Professional, Aveda, and Larry King in the fresh new haircare world discovery area. There are now 35% more hair-related products for sale, with 50% more brands introduced as part of the transformation.

• New Jewellery brands – in a new home on the first floor along with new piercing and jewellery welding services from Tish Lyon, this fresh and elevated part of the store is home to 46 brands. New brands launched are Dinny Hall, Enamel Copenhagen, Sarah Alexander, Hoxton London and Koijis Vintage Jewellery.

• New brands for home – brought in new brands including Ruggable and MADE.com. Existing brands have been elevated, with room sets featuring strongly alongside better navigation and style segmentation.

• Technology and Large Appliances – Further departments will be opened across our six floors. This follows the recent openings of a Waterstones bookshop and a new rooftop restaurant and bar, 1864.

Our Oxford Street store will continue to be a test bed for transformative improvements and changes which will then roll out to the wider portfolio of shops.

Almost 70 customer events will be held between 25-27 October to celebrate the new look Beauty Halls and showcase the improvements across the stores.

A stylish lifestyle range designed by a fine art student, Izaac, is now available online and in John Lewis and Waitrose stores. The new range aims to raise donations to make a real and lasting difference to the lives of young people who are care experienced.

The collection is the latest in the Made by Care range, which has grown from the John Lewis Partnership’s Building Happier Futures programme. The programme aims to help care experienced young people improve their employability potential.

Government statistics show that care leavers are three times more likely not to be in education, employment or training (NEET) than other young people.

Izaac’s story

Izaac applied to collaborate with the John Lewis Partnership and creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and their talented work was championed by the charity Become.

They worked with the John Lewis in-house design team and creative partners at Saatchi & Saatchi to develop their unique designs, including in a one-on-one workshop.

“Turning my care records into artwork helped me regain authorship over information concealed from me. Inspired by my time in the woods, the branches become my protectors, letting me process and redact information at my own pace.

“As a fine art student, this is an incredible opportunity to help my Art work gain visibility. Made by care is helping me develop my connections and gain experience in the art world – seeing how products are made, working with designers and creatives.”

Izaac, Designer and Fine Art Student

The new gifting range

The gifting range is a must-have choice for presents with a purpose this Christmas and includes three unisex graphic T-shirts (£15), ideal for layering in the winter; as well as a stylish sweatshirt (£30); two silk scarves (£25) – the accessory of AW24 – and a printed statement mug (£6). These items are available online from 23rd October and in John Lewis stores from the 28th October.

The range also includes two printed tote bags (£10) made of recycled bottles, which are available online and in Waitrose stores.

Profits from each product sold will be donated to the Building Happier Futures fund, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership Foundation. All donations will contribute to support our work with Action for Children, Home Start and Who Cares? Scotland building supportive communities for care experienced people, and helping families and carers create happy and secure homes.

The collaborative design-led project will see more products launched in 2025 and beyond, as part of the Partnerships long-term commitment to support Care Experienced young people through the Building Happier Futures programme.

“This collection is beautiful, bringing together unique designs that tell a deeply personal story. It’s exciting to see how this range can be a vehicle for change, and we’re thrilled to offer our customers pieces that are not only beautiful but also champion the talents of designers who are care experienced.”

Rosie Hanley, Director of Brand for John Lewis

“Izaac’s designs tell a unique and personal story. Our customers aren’t just buying a beautifully designed product; they’re investing in a piece that highlights a real societal issue, with the potential to inspire real change. It’s so exciting to see how the Made By Care brand is developing and how this is making a meaningful difference to more lives through the Building Happier Futures programme.”

Ceira Thom, Head of Learning at the John Lewis Partnership