#John Lewis Partnership (JLP)

[coochiequeens]

Bring back the old days when men used to kill themselves if these kinds of pictures went public

By Genevieve Gluck February 18, 2024

CONTENT NOTICE: This article contains photos which might be considered Not Safe For Work. Reader discretion is appreciated.

A British retailer is under fire after featuring a transgender BDSM fetishist in a new ad campaign highlighting “diverse” employees. To commemorate LGBT+ History Month, John Lewis Partnership (JLP) released a photo exhibition called the Identity Project, which highlights staff who identify as transgender or queer. The content was created as part of JLP’s 32-page internal magazine, Identity, which was distributed to the company’s 80,000 employees.

Yet critics on social media swiftly pointed out that some participants in the photography project had troubling backgrounds — including one trans-identified male who had been uploading disturbing bondage fetish photos to his Flickr and Facebook accounts

Marc Geoffrey Albert Whitcombe, who was positively profiled in the campaign, has worked for JLP at Waitrose Brighton for over two decades. In February 2021, Whitcombe legally changed his name to “Ruby Geoffrey Michael Porcelain Whitcombe,” in accordance with his self-declared transgender status.

According to the image produced in collaboration with photographer Chris Jepson for JLP, Whitcombe began to identify as transgender in 2015 “after accessing mental health support.” The photo of Whitcombe depicts him in fetish attire, wearing a wig, and holding a multi-tailed whip.

“[He] came out to [his] friends and family and started transitioning, presenting more and more as female, and [he] now presents as female full-time,” reads the copy, referring to Whitcombe with feminine pronouns. “[His] transition brought about a new confidence that saw [him] start performing at local competitions and open mics, culminating in lip-syncing for Graham Norton in the grand final of one of Europe’s biggest Lip Sync competitions and singing live on stage at one of Europe’s biggest trans Pride events.”

Prior to identifying as transgender, Whitcombe had been performing as a drag queen at burlesque shows under the moniker Tran-Tula. A Facebook account used to promote his events is described as “a page for my kinky and trans-drag performing alter-ego.”

Posting under the alias Ruby Porcelain online, Whitcombe has uploaded hundreds of images of himself in fetish gear, bondage, and lingerie. Some photos depicted Whitcombe in dresses, spreading his legs to reveal himself in women’s underwear, and others show Whitcombe holding sex toys in his mouth.

Under a now-deleted Flickr account, Whitcombe can be seen in a variety of sexual poses, holding handcuffs, wearing a police uniform and brandishing a whip, or sporting thigh-high PVC boots.

Pornographic images seen by Reduxx that were saved under Whitcombe’s favorites folder depict other “sissy” crossdressing men in bondage, hogtied and gagged, or alternatively decked out in silicone costumes designed to resemble women — part of a fetish subculture known as female masking.

One of the first groups joined by Whitcombe, according to his profile, is a crossdressing fetish community where men share similar content, captioned with pornographic language, such as “Sucking cock: the ultimate turn-on,” and, “Who goes out in public?”

Ruby Whitcombe.

An alternative Flickr account run by Whitcombe interacts with dozens of groups dedicated to photos of graveyards. Whitcombe uses the account to share hundreds of his own images of cemeteries and tombstones as a participant in a taphophilia subculture that celebrates a compulsive interest in the rituals of death. In one Facebook post dated April 2020, Whitcombe states that he regularly frequents graveyards in order to “exercise.”

Following the revelation of Whitcombe’s sadomasochistic proclivities, JLP Executive Director James Bailey released an internal staff memo that was leaked by former barrister and advocate James Esses.

“You may have seen coverage in the press and on social media over the past 24 hours following the publication of the Identity magazine,” reads the memo. “We have an ambition to become the UK’s most inclusive employer, because celebrating diversity will make us a better business. That means creating an environment where everyone feels welcome irrespective of their backgrounds or beliefs.”

The statement went on to offer mental health support to any individual who had been “affected” by any of the “coverage,” without mentioning the fetish content and pornography that had been publicly shared by Whitcombe.

Ruby Whitcombe.

An alternative Flickr account run by Whitcombe interacts with dozens of groups dedicated to photos of graveyards. Whitcombe uses the account to share hundreds of his own images of cemeteries and tombstones as a participant in a taphophilia subculture that celebrates a compulsive interest in the rituals of death. In one Facebook post dated April 2020, Whitcombe states that he regularly frequents graveyards in order to “exercise.”

Following the revelation of Whitcombe’s sadomasochistic proclivities, JLP Executive Director James Bailey released an internal staff memo that was leaked by former barrister and advocate James Esses.

“You may have seen coverage in the press and on social media over the past 24 hours following the publication of the Identity magazine,” reads the memo. “We have an ambition to become the UK’s most inclusive employer, because celebrating diversity will make us a better business. That means creating an environment where everyone feels welcome irrespective of their backgrounds or beliefs.”

The statement went on to offer mental health support to any individual who had been “affected” by any of the “coverage,” without mentioning the fetish content and pornography that had been publicly shared by Whitcombe.

Other JLP employees featured in the LGBT+ campaign included a nursery advisor in bondage gear associated with the so called ‘pup’ and furry community, which incorporates a sexual interest in dressing up as animals. Additionally, Liberal Democrat councillor Sean Macleod, of Lewes and Eastbourne, was profiled despite being publicly criticized last year for a “misogynistic” social media post which read, “Fuck the TERFs,” a euphemism for women who oppose gender identity policies.

In 2019, public outcry erupted after John Lewis’ clothing retail shops were discovered to have adopted a ‘gender-neutral’ policy for its changing rooms, which, as critics pointed out, allowed men who declared a transgender status to use the fitting rooms reserved for women.

In the days leading up to the most recent controversy, which saw John Lewis trending on social media platform X for two days with calls for a boycott, Esses had criticized what he called the “trans takeover of John Lewis,” and described in detail other aspects of JLP’s Identity magazine.

“This month, JLP published a new internal magazine, entitled ‘Identity’. It was the brainchild of JLP’s ‘LGBTQIA+ network’. It was promoted to every one of its 80,000 staff members (known as Partners). A copy of the magazine was sent to me by someone working at JLP, too afraid to speak out themselves,” Esses wrote on his Substack.

Among the concerning ideological content highlighted by Esses was the promotion of breast binders for minors and pressure from higher-ups on personnel to wear pronoun badges at work.

“Most worrying of all is when the article goes on to recommend Mermaids as a resource to parents. This is the same Mermaids currently under investigation by the Charity Commission for safeguarding concerns, including sending breast binders to children behind parents’ backs,” Esses says.

“Shockingly, the article goes a step further, by actually recommending online videos which show children how to achieve their ‘desired gender identity, for example, chest binders’. Readers are told that ‘a binder is always safer than the alternatives.'”

Women’s rights campaigner and founder of advocacy group Sex Matters, Maya Forstater, referred to JLP’s promotion of Whitcombe as part of a larger trend she called “bring your autogynephilia to work,” a term defined as a male sexual fetish for pretending to be female.

“It is sexist and insulting to women to pretend that these men’s hobby of dressing up and wearing wigs makes them women,” Forstater remarked.

In recent years, several other men have been held up as role models for wearing sexualized female-coded attire. One of the men presented as an example of the phenomenon, Philip, or ‘Pippa’ Bunce, was in 2018 included in a list of Britain’s top 100 female executives compiled for the Champions of Women in Business awards.

[makinvestment]

John Lewis and Waitrose to offer staff free food this winter

John Lewis and Waitrose to offer staff free food this winter

Reading Time: 2 mins The John Lewis Partnership (JLP), which owns John Lewis and Waitrose stores, have announced they will be offering staff free food this winter to help them cope with the cost of living crisis. From October to January, employees can get free meals during work hours.  Even better, these meals will be available to not just permanent staff, but temporary staff and agency workers,…

[youtubelia]

John Lewis and Waitrose to offer staff free food this winter

John Lewis and Waitrose to offer staff free food this winter

Reading Time: 2 mins The John Lewis Partnership (JLP), which owns John Lewis and Waitrose stores, have announced they will be offering staff free food this winter to help them cope with the cost of living crisis. From October to January, employees can get free meals during work hours.  Even better, these meals will be available to not just permanent staff, but temporary staff and agency workers,…

[opticien2-0]

John Lewis Partnership expands digital team by more than 150 as customers continue to shift online

Image courtesy of the John Lewis Partnership

The John Lewis Partnership is hiring as its digital business expands to serve customers who continue to shift their business online. Almost 70% of John Lewis and almost 20% of Waitrose sales now take place online. Two years ago, 40% of John Lewis sales were online as were 5% of Waitrose sales. 

  JLP is looking to fill more than 150 specialist roles, from software engineers to delivery leads, to help deliver customer-facing projects on both websites as well to support the growth and development of the Waitrose and John Lewis apps, which account for almost a quarter of sales at the two brands. 

  The retail group says that its future growth will be about getting closer to its customers online, and responding as their buying habits change – and that its new hires will play an important role in that. The John Lewis and Waitrose websites together currently see around 55m visits a month. 

  Sandra Christie, head of engineering at the John Lewis Partnership, says: “We have an industry-leading team driving the digital growth of our two iconic brands, Waitrose and John Lewis. It’s our partners who make the difference and we’re really excited to be making this significant investment in growing our engineering talent.”

  Engineers will be working across a range of programs and platforms. Software engineers will work across the John Lewis and Waitrose websites using Kotlin or Java on the back-end and React and Next.js on the front-end. Native app engineers will use both iOS and Android platforms, and data engineers will work on a Google Cloud based data platform. Cloud platform engineers will be working on the partnership’s Google Cloud and AWS-based digital platforms.

  John Lewis sells online and from 42 shops as well as an outlet store, while Waitrose sells from three dedicated websites offering groceries, wine and plants and flowers and also operates 332 shops. 

  John Lewis and Waitrose are both ranked Top50 in RXUK Top500 research. 

[furniturereflector]

JLP leases additional distribution centre

The John Lewis Partnership has signed an agreement with Tesco to lease a one-million sqft distribution centre at Fenny Lock in Milton Keynes.  The business says the move will help it meet growing customer demand for online orders, and that, since the start of the pandemic, online sales have grown from 40% to over 60% of John Lewis’ total sales.  via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8134855 https://ift.tt/3lTEOxi

[hummingzone]

John Lewis and Waitrose owner to cut 1,000 jobs in stores

John Lewis and Waitrose owner to cut 1,000 jobs in stores

The owner of John Lewis and Waitrose is planning to cut 1,000 jobs in stores as part of an effort to cut costs. The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) said it would aim to find new jobs for those losing their store management roles and would try to reduce compulsory job cuts by offering voluntary redundancy to those affected. The group said it was simplifying its store management structures under a…

[getitdevidwarner]

John Lewis Partnership cuts another 1,500 jobs in coronavirus crisis shake-up

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) is cutting a further 1,500 jobs through a shake-up of its head office functions to save cash as the coronavirus crisis continues to take a toll on sales. from http://news.sky.com/uk Check out https://jamesheath1.blogspot.com

[successdigestonline]

John Lewis cutting up to 1,500 head office jobs by April next year

John Lewis cutting up to 1,500 head office jobs by April next year

The John Lewis Partnership is axing up to 1,500 head office jobs by April next year as part of its plans to transform the ailing department store business.

In a shock move earlier this year, the group shut eight of its John Lewis stores for good, putting 1,300 people at risk of losing their jobs.

JLP said the latest head office cuts were necessary to save an extra £50million on top of £50million…

[asfeedin]

Admiral shows the insurance industry how it is done

Admiral, the only Wales-headquartered company in the FTSE 100 index, has never played by the same rules as other insurers. It shook up the motor industry in the 1990s and looks like doing it again now. It has decided, since most cars are parked on driveways and high speed prangs are at a minimum, it will return £110m in drivers’ premiums and lower prices on policies or the group’s premium income for a month. It doesn’t amount to much per policy — just £25. But it seems positively enlightened in an insurance industry that is cementing a reputation for clutching policyholders’ money tight and standing on semantics to avoid claims.

Compare Admiral with Hiscox, the Bermuda-based business that last week stated baldly: “Hiscox’s core policy wordings do not provide cover for business interruption as a result of the general measures taken by the UK government in response to a pandemic”. Lawyers — Shakespeare’s “orators of miseries” — will have a field day over those “wordings”.

Fair enough to hold tight if businesses paid for protection excluding pandemics. Insurers risk going bust if they pay out on claims that they haven’t priced for. Travel insurance claims alone are expected to top £275m for Covid-19 related claims. The previous record for travel disruption was £148m in 2010 when that unpronounceable Icelandic volcano clouded Europe’s skies with ash. Business interruption claims are multiples higher.

But the industry must look to its reputation.

Last week the Financial Conduct Authority made it clear it was watching closely how insurers treated claimants and that it expected them to show flexibility, treat customers fairly and pay up quickly rather than defaulting to pettifogging. A regulatory black mark could be the least of insurers’ woes if customers decide they have wasted thousands on insurance that was designed not to pay out. Generations could give up taking out protection, whether for travel, home, life or health. As consumer champion Which? warns: “People will remember how businesses treated them during this crisis”.

Insurance bosses such as Aviva’s Maurice Tulloch, RSA’s Stephen Hester and Convex founder Stephen Catlin, have banded together with Pool Re, which was set up by the industry in 1993 to cover terrorist attacks with government backing, to look at how the sector can better respond to future pandemics. The next one may be too late. They should be thinking big, and imaginatively, now about how they can come out of this current pandemic well.

Admiral suggests one path — return premiums on policies that are unfit for purpose.

Two wheels better than one

ABF is an old fashioned business more like a penny farthing than a modern bicycle, with its one big wheel — Primark — and a stabiliser in the shape of its food stuffs. That model has come into its own during coronavirus.

Penny farthings were all the rage because they covered a lot of ground quickly. Primark has in the past driven ABF way past its retailing peers.

Backers are having a bone shaking ride now, though. Primark has ground to a halt and it is a long drop from the saddle. But ABF has support — store cupboard staples such as Twinings, Silver Spoon and Ovaltine. Sugar might churn out £100m in full-year adjusted operating profits when last year it made only £26m, and grocery should do better than 2019’s £380m.

Tea and sugar can’t fill the gap left by Primark���s lost profits entirely, though, even with food factories at full tilt.

Primark would normally make £650m a month in sales; instead, despite all the mitigating measures from furlough schemes and rate relief to 50 per cent executive pay cuts, there will be a monthly cash outflow of £100m while stores stay shut. Then there is the stock surpluses Primark will have to shift. It has written down £284m of inventory. The fast-fashion chain made £441m in the first half of the year, two-thirds of the group’s total.

Still the business will keep on going.

Equally old-fashioned John Lewis Partnership has something of the same structure, even if its two wheels are more evenly sized. Waitrose is there to steady the department stores. In a worst-case scenario JLP reckons the supermarket’s sales might only fall 5 per cent this year to the department stores brand’s 35 per cent. That will help it ride out the crisis. 

Retailing rivals will envy JLP and ABF’s stabilising wheels. Plenty have to contend with a total collapse in sales and won’t emerge from the crisis. 

It will take a bit of time to get ABF’s big wheel turning when we are back on the road. Shoppers will be scared of bricks and mortar stores for a while. But when Primark returns to form, its cheap clothes for skint shoppers will propel it to the front of the pack again.

kate. burgess @ft.com ABF: cat.rutterpooley@ft.com

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Tags: Admiral, industry, Insurance, shows

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[williamneillson]

John Lewis staff brace for a life with little or no bonus

The employee-owned partnership reveals what staff will receive this week. After a hard year, it may not be much

While some Brexiters seem desperate for Britons to recreate the camaraderie of the second world war years, do staff toiling in John Lewis and Waitrose stores really want to be transported back to the time of rationing? This week the employee-owned company’s 83,000 staff will find out the size of their annual bonus – and they have been warned that they may need a magnifying glass to see it.

After a Christmas to forget, Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), said times were so tough that the company would “need to consider carefully … whether payment of a bonus is prudent” – not least because of the proximity of the Brexit deadline, when the country’s retailers are braced for major disruption.

Continue reading… John Lewis staff brace for a life with little or no bonus syndicated from https://instarify.wordpress.com/

[opticien2-0]

73% online growth fails to stop John Lewis ditching bonus, as profits crash; Co-op sees brighter future

John Lewis: profits slump in store

It’s a tale of two co-operative retailers: staff-owned John Lewis has been forced to ditch its partner bonus for the first time since 1953, while member-owned Co-op reports better than expected results, thanks to food sales.

  John Lewis posted a £635 million half year loss and has been forced to axe its staff bonus – the first time since 1953 when it resumed after a post-war hiatus. The loss was mitigated by a 73% rise in online sales, however.

  The retailer saw a 10% drop in store sales in the six months to July. Its sister business Waitrose did however see sales up 10%. Yesterday the retailer announced plans to shrink the floorspace of its flagship Oxford Street store in London by 40%. It has also recently shed 1300 jobs and has closed 50 stores.

  Online now accounts for more than 60% of sales, from 40% before the pandemic. As a result of this pronounced shift to digital John Lewis has had to reassess how much shops contribute to whether our customers buy online with us or not.

  Dame Sharon White, chair of JLP, said: “The pandemic has brought forward changes in consumer shopping habits which might have taken five years into five months. Both brands entered the crisis with strong and established online businesses and in the case of Waitrose, plans for expansion well underway in preparation for the end of the relationship with Ocado. Our digital businesses, powered by Partners, have been key to underpinning our first half performance.”

  She added: “Before the crisis we believed that shops contributed around £6 of every £10 spent online. We now think that figure is, on average, around £3. This has the effect of reducing the book value of John Lewis shops by about £470 million, known as an ‘impairment’. This is a technical adjustment in our accounts and has no impact on our underlying profits or cash in the bank. There is some judgement here. If shops drove 10% more online sales in future, the impairment would be around £400 million; 10% less and it would be around £570 million.”

  Partners had already been warned in April that they were unlikely to see a bonus in 2021 and Dame Sharon said the board had now confirmed "that there will not be a bonus next year given our profit outlook".

  She continued: “The decision in no way detracts from the commitment and dedication that you have shown. The partnership found itself in a similar position in 1948 when the bonus was halted following the Second World War. We came through then to be even stronger than before and we will do so again."

  Dame Sharon said that "outside of exceptional circumstances" JLP would expect to start paying a bonus again once profits exceed £150 million and debt falls.”

  Co-op on the up

The Co-op, meanwhile, saw sales surge by more than 7% to £5.8 billion for the 26 weeks to July 4, driven by exceptional food sales.

  Food revenues for the group increased by 5.2% to £3.9 billion for the period, with 9.9% like-for-like growth in the second quarter, after customers shopped closer to home and ate out less frequently during the lockdown.

  Its online offering continues to grow, with 500 stores now delivering food to customers. Its online same-day delivery service is now available across almost 100 towns and cities. The rollout includes services from Co-op’s own dedicated online shop – shop. coop.co.uk – which uses low emissions transport including eco-friendly bikes. It also includes a Deliveroo service that now covers more than 1,000 store catchments.

  Co-op also teamed up with Buymie, a mobile app, to offer same-day home grocery deliveries to some 200,000 households across Bristol. The move is the first partnership in the UK for Ireland-based Buymie whose mobile app allows customers to book personalised online home grocery deliveries.

  However, the Co-op warned that it expects competition in the grocery sector to now “intensify”, but is “well-positioned” to compete.

  It has resumed its store opening programme and made a commitment to invest £130 million in opening 50 stores, extending 15 stores and giving 100 further sites makeovers, creating 1,000 jobs before the end of the year.

  Steve Murrells, chief executive of the Co-op, said: “We are living in unprecedented times, but the response of our Co-op has been exceptional and I’m immensely proud of my 60,000 colleagues who’ve helped to feed and care for the nation during this difficult period. The coming months and years remain uncertain, and we know our own Co-op will not be immune to the pressures the recession brings to family budgets and to local and national economies. We will continue to invest within our core businesses to ensure that our Co-op value resonates within Co-op households and local communities.”

[opticien2-0]

… and rolls out electric delivery vans across JLP and Waitrose as home delivery soars

Waitrose deliveries set to be electric

The John Lewis Partnership, ranked Elite in RXUK Top500 research, and its sister store Waitrose, are to increase the use of electric delivery vehicles as home delivery continues to soar as lockdown ends.

  The group, which pledges to have an entirely fossil fuel-free transport system by 2030 and to be carbon neutral across the entire business by 2050, is set to trial a fleet of what it calls “revolutionary” electric vans in early 2021.

  There will be two types of van used in the trial: small ones focussed on John Lewis home deliveries and a larger one for Waitrose food deliveries. Both types of vehicle will have a larger capacity than current delivery vans used by the company and could reduce emissions by as much as 20,000 tonnes each year.

  The announcement comes just weeks after the retailer announced plans to build its first on-site biomethane gas filling station at its Bracknell headquarters.

  The announcements come as John Lewis rapidly shifts to accommodate a huge swing by consumers to online. While it is planning to not reopen several of its stores post-lockdown, it is also looking at how to make the stores it has fit better with the online shopping shift.

  As part of this, the retailer has announced plans to create more personal shoppers to help drive online use of stores, adding to its already rapidly expanding online delivery capacity during the pandemic. The retailer has also recently pledged to boost its click and collect services.

  The move to provide a better tie up between stores and online is in line with the remit of its newly appointed executive director, Pippa Wicks, whose job it is to make stores relevant in the new post-COVID shopping world.

  She is also joined this week by Nikki Humphrey as its executive director for people, appointed this week to replace Tracey Killen who has retired after a 38 year career with the partnership. Humphrey will oversee people issues as the retailer wrestles to become more omni-channel.

[opticien2-0]

John Lewis unlikely to reopen all stores post lockdown and is shutting up shop in Ireland completely

John Lewis: poised to reduce footprint?

While Elite RXUK Top500 retailer, John Lewis is drawing up plans as to how to open up post lockdown, it is also thought to be looking at keeping some branches shut for good.

  According to reports in The Evening Standard, the retailer believes that it is “highly unlikely” that all 50 stores will reopen, with the chain already seen as struggling in the run up to the pandemic – and with sales slumping during the enforced closure.

  14,000 of the company’s staff have already been furloughed and the chain also said it would not be re-opening its business in Ireland after the worldwide lockdown ended.

  Addressing City analysts later today, Dame Sharon White, the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership is set to outlined the chain’s struggles, is set to ask customers and financial institutions for a cash injection – through an issue of corporate bonds – and is outlining whether a slimmed down portfolio of stores is the way forward.

  In a statement, JLP said: "We keep our estate under continuous review in order to ensure we have the right amounts of shops to best serve our customers and remain commercially viable. It is too early to make a decision but, as always, any decision that is made is done with securing the long-term financial sustainability of the Partnership and is always communicated to our Partners first."

  However, Nigel Frith, a senior market analyst at www.asktraders.com believes store closures are now inevitable. “What we are seeing here is simple – if the firm was in a weak position going into the coronavirus lockdown, there is a good chance that it will not be coming out better the other side – and it’s looking like it won’t be,” he says. “In recent years fast fashion and online businesses have thrived, whilst our more traditional brands have struggled to transform and adapt with the current economic climate.”

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[furniturereflector]

The trade's take on JLP’s management integration

In October, John Lewis Partnership announced plans to integrate the John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners management teams, stating that a reduction of around 75 senior roles (from 225), would improve efficiency and help it save some £100m. Today, the partnership announced that Paula Nickolds – current MD of John Lewis & Partners, who was slated to become executive director, brand – will be leaving the business rather than taking up the new post. via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8134855 https://ift.tt/2tImC0F

[williamneillson]

John Lewis denies Waitrose takeover approach by Amazon

JLP chair rejects reports about tech giant’s attempt to initiate formal talks

John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has rejected reports it ruled out formal talks with Amazon after the tech giant had eyed Waitrose supermarkets as a takeover target last year.

According to a Sunday Times report, a senior executive from the US tech giant pushed for a formal meeting, but was blocked by JLP’s board.

Continue reading… John Lewis denies Waitrose takeover approach by Amazon syndicated from https://instarify.wordpress.com/

[jps221-blog]

People & Skills

After working under the Waitrose arm of the John Lewis partnership for three years, my responsibilities were increased, reflecting my level of experience. As a direct result, I was afforded the role of conducting interviews for a new job vacancy. Prior to these interviews, I was instructed by HR to look for a number of specific characteristics within the candidates. It was suggested that if I had to choose between a young and an older candidate of similar levels of employability, it would be favourable to choose the younger candidate.

Initially, I was unsure of how I was to go about this task, however the content of lecture three shed light on how I was to confidently select a future employee. Studies conducted by Patrickson and Hartman (1998) have showed that older workers tend to be more reliable. The studies also revealed that younger employees were easier to mould, an important factor for those transitioning into managerial positions in the summer of 2016. The previous transition had caused some disputes between managers and older employees, who appeared to be more resistant to change. Something that may be explained by ‘older employees feeling that their life experience is not recognised and that they are not generally respected’ (Daniel Smentek, 2006).

In addition to the hiring process at Waitrose, the reward schemes in place for those that excel in a certain field are increasingly tailored towards each demographic group respectively. For example, employees have the opportunity to gain discounted festival or theatre tickets. The importance of building a good relationship between employer and employee through benefit schemes such as this are invaluable. ‘Long-termism’ is something that is held in high regard within the JLP (Quinn, 2017) and ensures employee loyalty to John Lewis. The interview process and the reward schemes I have outlined highlight motivations for organisations to prioritise the employer to employee relationship.