The 83,000 Partners who work for the John Lewis Partnership have been included in the businesses’ names for the first time in the company’s history, as both John Lewis and Waitrose have added ‘& Partners’. The change has been designed to highlight their Partnership business model and culture which differentiates them from their main competitors at a time when both businesses are investing in the service their partners offer.
‘John Lewis & Partners’ and ‘Waitrose & Partners’ have been unveiled on the facades of John Lewis’s flagship shop on Oxford Street, which has undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment, its shop at White City, Westfield, and Waitrose’s shops in Edgware Road and Clerkenwell in London; as well as on johnlewis.com, waitrose.com, carrier bags, uniforms, trolleys, marketing activity, internal shop signs and selected lorries and vans. The full identity change to all 348 Waitrose and 50 John Lewis shop facades and the combined fleet of 3,500 lorries and vans is being phased over a number of years to tie in with refurbishment plans.
In addition to investing in their identities the John Lewis Partnership said in June that it would continue to invest in both businesses at a rate of £400m-£500m per year, to enable the two retail businesses to differentiate themselves from other retailers by innovating in products, customer service and services.
Paula Nickolds, John Lewis & Partners, Managing Director said: “Our Partnership business model and the inherent strength of our Partners really sets us apart. That’s why the change to our visual identity this week puts Partners back at the heart of everything we do. This move not only reflects the business we have become but more importantly, the business we want to be.”
The launch of the new identity is being supported by the first ever joint John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners national marketing campaign, the single biggest ever campaign for both brands outside of Christmas. It includes a new TV and cinema advert, which features children putting their heart into performing a school play to the sound of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody song and ends with the line ‘For us, it’s personal’.
