The John Lewis Partnership recently announced that it would create 500 jobs to help fulfill online orders. Even though stores closed down due to the pandemic, online orders at John Lewis have only increased from 40 percent to over 60 percent.
John Lewis has agreed to a deal with Tesco to lease a 1 million sq ft distribution centre for 11 years. The distribution centre is located at Fenny Lock in Milton Keynes, and it is only four miles from its largest warehouse in Magna Park. This site will start operating in two years. This site will stock small home furnishing fashion and technology-related items.
John Lewis shut several of its stores and also cancelled its famous bonus in the face of the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The company declared around 4,000 job cuts including, 1,000 jobs as part of a shake-up of its store management.
John Lewis will lease a 300,000 sq ft logistics site, to be operated by Clipper Logistics. This site is located in the Leicestershire village of Bardon.
The Waitrose owner will have a total of 12 distribution centres after these two sites also become operational.
Because the new site is such proximity to the Magna Park location, it would help reduce lorry usage and also the number of packages it creates. This will help the company achieve its target of reaching net-zero carbon by 2035.
The John Lewis group also intends to invest £50million in its website, virtual events, app, and digital services. The company is going to invest £100million in total towards its online platform over five years.
The company faced an almost £517million annual loss last year. This sort of massive business loss is unprecedented in the history of this company. By the end of the decade, John Lewis aims to procure 40 percent of its earnings from ‘non-retail sectors.
John Lewis, in a strategic move to attract a younger demographic, has launched a new ‘affordable’ apparel line called Anyday. John Lewis also offered its first-ever ‘buy now, pay later’ (BPNL) option to its customers as a response to the rise in interest-free credit.