John Lewis - Never Knowingly Having Retail Experience.

[RJT1979]

This black ceo sounds like a primary school teacher. JL lost their minds.

[Frank Hovis]

56 minutes ago, RJT1979 said:

This black ceo sounds like a primary school teacher. JL lost their minds.

 

It's rather like the Co-Op bank appointing a Methodist minister as Chairman and wondering why it all went spectacularly wrong.

Whoever decided a struggling retail chain would benefit from installing a time-served civil servant with zero private sector experience let alone retail experience as Chair was clearly smoking crack at the time.

[steppensheep]

5 hours ago, Bornagain said:

...

And who on earth thinks that they should get into renting out social housing - this is about as far from its core business as it's possible to get.

 

 

This is the funniest bit. They get a career civil servant in to run the shop, and the first new idea she comes up with is building council houses. Maybe they can collect the bins as well.

[satch]

Satch’s Business Transformation Course – Lesson 1

Problem. You have been in a business in the private sector for over one hundred fifty years and can no longer make a profit.

Solution. Bring in a politically correct person who knows nothing about your business, preferable one who has worked solely in the public sector ideally in some irrelevant government department or quango to transform the business.

Satch’s Business Transformation Course – Lesson 2

Problem. You have been in a business for over one hundred fifty years and can no longer make a profit even based on generations of current and past experience.

Solution. Go into another unrelated business that also has tight margins, a business you know absolutely nothing about and you will easily outmanoeuvre the incumbents and make big profits instantly.

Satch’s Business Transformation Course – Lesson 3

Problem. You have been in a business for over one hundred fifty years and can no longer make a profit because your staff are over paid.

Solution. Ensure all the old staff are kept on and are happy with their current benefit packages while making sure new more productive employees are paid much less and so are more likely to leave.

Satch’s Business Transformation Course – Lesson 4

Problem. You have been in a business for over one hundred fifty years and can no longer make a profit because you are losing your customer base.

Solution. Remove any perks and incentives for the current customers and try to get new customers from your competitors even though they have never done business or spent any money with you before.

Satch’s Business Transformation Course – Lesson 5

Problem. You have been in a business for over one hundred fifty years and can no longer make a profit because both your costs and prices are way too high.

Solution. Carry on, as you were, I am sure it will all be alright when the economy picks up.

[Rare Bear]

3 hours ago, MrPin said:

Sometimes, I almost believe you are let out sometimes, under supervision.

But the supervision has gone off on the piss.

[spygirl]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-54558633

She looks a lot blacker than her promo piccies.

She even appears to have skinned a zebra....

Call me a cynic but when I hear a public sector wimmin type start speaking and mentioning numbers and 'service' rather than 'feelings'  ... I m just not convinced.

 

 

[spygirl]

We are already a LL with a nubmer of our stores ....

Err a commercial shop LL is not the same sort of LL as 'Shazza 10 kids Bazzas just left prison' LL

[spygirl]

'By about 2030 about 40% of our will come from outside of retail allowing us to pay our partners better .......'

 

Wow. Just wow.

I admit. Im wrong. Shaazza is a genius. I just cant see how this can go wrong.

 

[spygirl]

'Does John Lewis need to e more diverse ...'

Great interview by Emma.

.Need to appeal to more dvierse customers. ... '

 

I await the Waitrose Bush meat counter.

Chimpanzee steak?

 

Id 'do' Emma' from the muckrake profile

https://muckrack.com/bbcemmasimpson

Dont fancy her munter twin doing the interview.

Claims to have been at BBC sicne 208.

I can never remember ever seeing her.

 

 

[sleepwello'nights]

4 hours ago, Panther said:

If they can't get premium right then I don't think going downmarket is a great idea.

Never underestimate the taste of the great British public. To paraphrase a well known figure, who I can't remember.

 

Its easy to criticise, what suggestions can we come up with on how to rejuvenate JL?

Most retail executives are failing to adopt successful strategies. They are all falling back on the tried and tested strategy of slashing prices and having sales.

 

[Roger_Mellie]

1 hour ago, sleepwello'nights said:

Never underestimate the taste of the great British public. To paraphrase a well known figure, who I can't remember.

 

Its easy to criticise, what suggestions can we come up with on how to rejuvenate JL?

Most retail executives are failing to adopt successful strategies. They are all falling back on the tried and tested strategy of slashing prices and having sales.

 

I'm a big believer in Lafley's model of strategy: Vision -> where to play -> how to win  -> capabilities required -> management systems needed

It's not *that* difficult, but I doubt JL have been through this process (or any process by the looks of it), they're just throwing shit at a blanket and seeing what sticks.

 It all starts from knowing what you want to be, by expanding out in every single direction it's clear that JL don't know what they want to be so they've fallen at the first hurdle.

Ask Mike Ashley what Sports Direct is - he'll tell you in two sentences.

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by Roger_Mellie

[Roger_Mellie]

1 hour ago, sleepwello'nights said:

Never underestimate the taste of the great British public. To paraphrase a well known figure, who I can't remember.

 

Its easy to criticise, what suggestions can we come up with on how to rejuvenate JL?

Most retail executives are failing to adopt successful strategies. They are all falling back on the tried and tested strategy of slashing prices and having sales.

 

The problem with strategy is that you can't win by having the same strategy as everyone else. If your aim is to be the cheapest then you have to be prepared to go all the way because by definition there is only one cheapest player.

[Panther]

1 hour ago, sleepwello'nights said:

Its easy to criticise, what suggestions can we come up with on how to rejuvenate JL?

They need to be John Lewis, maybe a smaller John Lewis, maybe a more online John Lewis, maybe a less product lines John Lewis, but not downmarket because that's not John Lewis.

[reformed nice guy]

13 minutes ago, Panther said:

They need to be John Lewis, maybe a smaller John Lewis, maybe a more online John Lewis, maybe a less product lines John Lewis, but not downmarket because that's not John Lewis.

This.

They cannot compete with the likes of Boohoo or ASOS, and thats not even their customer base. 

They should look at the websites that 50+ women shop at and learn.

They should cut their product lines in store, especially things with thin margins or require a warranty. Focus on quality. Basically do their Waitrose brand but for clothes and gifts.

[The Generation Game]

17 minutes ago, reformed nice guy said:

This.

They cannot compete with the likes of Boohoo or ASOS, and thats not even their customer base. 

They should look at the websites that 50+ women shop at and learn.

They should cut their product lines in store, especially things with thin margins or require a warranty. Focus on quality. Basically do their Waitrose brand but for clothes and gifts.

Instead they've looked at who's received the biggest subsidies in the last 6 months. Hard for them to run an airline so they've decided to become a social housing provider. 

[wherebee]

6 hours ago, sleepwello'nights said:

Never underestimate the taste of the great British public. To paraphrase a well known figure, who I can't remember.

 

Its easy to criticise, what suggestions can we come up with on how to rejuvenate JL?

Most retail executives are failing to adopt successful strategies. They are all falling back on the tried and tested strategy of slashing prices and having sales.

R

Recognise that high street retail is dead in a world of internet shopping, pandemics, and demographic change in the UK.  Run down the business, sell off the assets, distribute profits to the members.  That way each member would probably get 200k+, which is enough for most of them that they never have to work again.

If you want to be radical, be fucking radical.

 

[stop_the_craziness]

13 hours ago, spygirl said:

In July, she indicated that there were significant opportunities to offer new services that reflected the company’s sense of purpose, including more financial services and even social housing.

it had identified 20 sites where the group could build social housing to rent. It will submit two planning applications for sites in Greater London in early 2021. The group made £146m profit last year.

Social Housing you say?  Like that lovely Mr Cadbury did?  I'm sure those London planning applications will look just like this:

Edited October 16, 2020 by stop_the_craziness

[planit]

I know I am late to this and I want to give them the benefit of doubt but

They have 2 of the most valuable brands in the UK in John Lewis and Waitrose. I would argue that John Lewis especially have one of the most loyal customer bases. They have a tried and tested quality business model that has worked for decades and the main reason I would buy from John Lewis rather than Amazon is the certainty of a quality product and great customer service.

 

So their business plan is to go down market (very dangerous for a brand as it is easy to go down and difficult to go back up)

They also believe that the grass is greener on the other side, they can't make money in the market they know inside out and have huge equity in so they have decided they can make money in other competitive markets. In those new markets they have no disruptive technology (and are generally behind with technology from what I can see).

 

If they hit their targets I will really respect them but I feel the problems with this plan are going to be visible within 18 months and within 2.5 years there are going to be obvious large losses magnified by their neglect of their core market which is where all their profit comes from.

At this point it will be very difficult to turn round without serious capital injection and the 'partnership' will be no more.

Shame, I can't see them pulling this off, at the least it is very risky. I wonder how many dissenting voices there are internally to this plan.

[wherebee]

13 minutes ago, planit said:

I know I am late to this and I want to give them the benefit of doubt but

They have 2 of the most valuable brands in the UK in John Lewis and Waitrose. I would argue that John Lewis especially have one of the most loyal customer bases. They have a tried and tested quality business model that has worked for decades and the main reason I would buy from John Lewis rather than Amazon is the certainty of a quality product and great customer service.

 

So their business plan is to go down market (very dangerous for a brand as it is easy to go down and difficult to go back up)

They also believe that the grass is greener on the other side, they can't make money in the market they know inside out and have huge equity in so they have decided they can make money in other competitive markets. In those new markets they have no disruptive technology (and are generally behind with technology from what I can see).

 

If they hit their targets I will really respect them but I feel the problems with this plan are going to be visible within 18 months and within 2.5 years there are going to be obvious large losses magnified by their neglect of their core market which is where all their profit comes from.

At this point it will be very difficult to turn round without serious capital injection and the 'partnership' will be no more.

Shame, I can't see them pulling this off, at the least it is very risky. I wonder how many dissenting voices there are internally to this plan.

I guess none.  By the time you are woke enough to hire an ethnic civil servant with no retail experience to run the business, because she is an ethnic diversity dream, you have driven out any culture of upwards criticism.  Seen it before.

[Hopeful]

18 hours ago, spygirl said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-54558633

She looks a lot blacker than her promo piccies.

She even appears to have skinned a zebra....

Call me a cynic but when I hear a public sector wimmin type start speaking and mentioning numbers and 'service' rather than 'feelings'  ... I m just not convinced.

 

 

OMFG

Just listened to that

Brought back cheesy memories

 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Hopeful

[spygirl]

Just now, Hopeful said:

OMFG

Which bit?

 

[Hopeful]

1 minute ago, spygirl said:

Which bit?

 

 

Presentation, ideas, naivety, ignorance, lights on but nobody home

Edited October 17, 2020 by Hopeful

[RJT1979]

16 hours ago, Roger_Mellie said:

I'm a big believer in Lafley's model of strategy: Vision -> where to play -> how to win  -> capabilities required -> management systems needed

It's not *that* difficult, but I doubt JL have been through this process (or any process by the looks of it), they're just throwing shit at a blanket and seeing what sticks.

 It all starts from knowing what you want to be, by expanding out in every single direction it's clear that JL don't know what they want to be so they've fallen at the first hurdle.

Ask Mike Ashley what Sports Direct is - he'll tell you in two sentences.

 

He would probably nut you

[swiss_democracy_for_all]

20 minutes ago, planit said:

I know I am late to this and I want to give them the benefit of doubt but

They have 2 of the most valuable brands in the UK in John Lewis and Waitrose. I would argue that John Lewis especially have one of the most loyal customer bases. They have a tried and tested quality business model that has worked for decades and the main reason I would buy from John Lewis rather than Amazon is the certainty of a quality product and great customer service.

 

So their business plan is to go down market (very dangerous for a brand as it is easy to go down and difficult to go back up)

They also believe that the grass is greener on the other side, they can't make money in the market they know inside out and have huge equity in so they have decided they can make money in other competitive markets. In those new markets they have no disruptive technology (and are generally behind with technology from what I can see).

 

If they hit their targets I will really respect them but I feel the problems with this plan are going to be visible within 18 months and within 2.5 years there are going to be obvious large losses magnified by their neglect of their core market which is where all their profit comes from.

At this point it will be very difficult to turn round without serious capital injection and the 'partnership' will be no more.

Shame, I can't see them pulling this off, at the least it is very risky. I wonder how many dissenting voices there are internally to this plan.

I’d have thought they could convert some of their stores into demonstrator/trial places, so customers who want to see and experience using the products before buying can do so. A store that offers this, plus efficient and customer-friendly handling of returns/faults etc, is worth paying a bit extra for.

Otherwise street retail will die.

[Bear Hug]

18 hours ago, spygirl said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-54558633

She looks a lot blacker than her promo piccies.

She even appears to have skinned a zebra....

Call me a cynic but when I hear a public sector wimmin type start speaking and mentioning numbers and 'service' rather than 'feelings'  ... I m just not convinced.

 

 

It's quite funny, as her looks don't match expected voice and accent. I am not saying it in any negative way, and it's not a comment on the content, just found it amusing.