John Lewis - Never Knowingly Having Retail Experience.

[SNACR]

On 16/06/2021 at 14:25, Bedrag Justesen said:

Actually, could say the same about DWP.

Maybe JL and M&S are public sector.

I’ve done my best previously to enlighten on such matters.

[Panther]

I'm pretty sure that the conglomerate has proven to be a failed business strategy.

[Ash4781b]

4 hours ago, dgul said:

Forget shops!  The future is in residential property!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57712618

They're not exactly mad, but it isn't sensible.

I'd say that the shareholders should be wanting to know why it would be best to leave their cash with M&S so that M&S (experts in retail) can invest in property, compared with taking the money and investing in a property company (experts in property).  I'd say they should also be very interested in the risk being taken on (and where the reward for that risk ends up).

I predict that if they do this it'll lead to the collapse of the company within 10 years (prob. closer to 5, but they'd have to actually start doing it, which might take a little while)

 

Partition off section of the John Lewis store and rent to the staff? 

[hapax legomenon]

Was in B&M looking for some cat stuff. Thought I would get cat some treats, one of the brands, Dreamies, was plastered with a rainbow flag and a banner on the packaging saying 'we support lgbt'. They lost a sale, found pic of bags below on internet

[One percent]

7 minutes ago, hapax legomenon said:

Was in B&M looking for some cat stuff. Thought I would get cat some treats, one of the brands, Dreamies, was plastered with a rainbow flag and a banner on the packaging saying 'we support lgbt'. They lost a sale, found pic of bags below on internet

Tbf, that cat looks very gay. 

[sarahbell]

On 16/06/2021 at 13:10, invalid said:

John Lewis boss says firm has to give new staff basic literacy and numeracy classes because they have been 'completely failed' by education system

 

The usual and typical blame everyone else. I saw no mention of the parents in the article, as a parent if my kids did not have basic literacy and numeracy skills then that would be a failure on my part.

Yeah. But they're very knowledgable about diversity and pronouns

[Rare Bear]

5 hours ago, Ash4781b said:

Partition off section of the John Lewis store and rent to the staff? 

Sort of like when hospitals had nurses' homes attached?

[Happy Renting]

On 15/06/2021 at 11:52, Frank Hovis said:

 

We are all of us wasting assets; steadily amortising down to zero though sometimes with an early complete write-off.

Explanation: This is an accountant's idea of a joke.

[Heart's Ease]

You couldn't make this up.

[spygirl]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57837864

Death spiral.

Cut, profits fall further, so cut more ...

 

[Frank Hovis]

Why they think they have an online future escapes me.

If it was a limited company the shareholders could say "no" to this stupidity but as a partnership they are simply going to spend all of their money and fold with nobody there to stop them.

I quite liked John Lewis back in the day but that was literally the last century.

 

The firm is spending £1bn over five years to speed up the move to online sales.

[spygirl]

4 minutes ago, Frank Hovis said:

Why they think they have an online future escapes me.

If it was a limited company the shareholders could say "no" to this stupidity but as a partnership they are simply going to spend all of their money and fold with nobody there to stop them.

I quite liked John Lewis back in the day but that was literally the last century.

 

The firm is spending £1bn over five years to speed up the move to online sales.

'We're going to be the Amazon for the middle classes!'

But Amazon (shoppy bit_ doesn't make money ...'

 

[Bedrag Justesen]

5 minutes ago, Frank Hovis said:

I quite liked John Lewis back in the day but that was literally the last century.

Ask yourself what is John Lewis ?

A website.

An outsourced call centre.

Fulfilled by an approved delivery company.

Could work out OK for them.

So long as they are cheapest.

Oh......  

[Frank Hovis]

4 minutes ago, spygirl said:

'We're going to be the Amazon for the middle classes!'

But Amazon (shoppy bit_ doesn't make money ...'

 

And also they have missed the boat.

If they were going to try to become a serious online force then they should have started this ten years ago; the middle classes already have their online shopping sites.

John Lewis is effectively dead already so they should simply close it down without wasting any more money and put all the funds into Waitrose which does have a viable future IMO.

That's the problem with a partnership led by a civil servant; they are incapable of fundamental change and their last gasp before expiry will be selling Waitrose for a song.

[Panther]

John Lewis is the name of a dead white male, that's going to have to change

[No One]

15 minutes ago, Panther said:

John Lewis is the name of a dead white male, that's going to have to change

Shaniqua Unbuhtu

[eek]

1 hour ago, spygirl said:

'We're going to be the Amazon for the middle classes!'

But Amazon (shoppy bit_ doesn't make money ...'

 

Certain bits of Amazon's shoppy bit make a whole pile of money.

It sits in the "advertising" bit of the profit and loss.

[longtomsilver]

The company in this photo is making an absolute packet turning their retail property into residential living space. 

£120k to live in a 1 bedroom flat above an Iceland in Rugeley. No wonder the owner is edging close to reaching billionaire status. Seems John Lewis want a piece of the pie.

You can buy a two bedroom terrace in the same town for less than that.

[eta-carinae]

31 minutes ago, longtomsilver said:

The company in this photo is making an absolute packet turning their retail property into residential living space. 

£120k to live in a 1 bedroom flat above an Iceland in Rugeley. No wonder the owner is edging close to reaching billionaire status. Seems John Lewis want a piece of the pie.

You can buy a two bedroom terrace in the same town for less than that.

I note the addition of the word "living" after Apartment...

Perhaps the unfortunate prisoners in their first floor cell need reminding?

[Roger_Mellie]

The middle is gone, its just that no one wants to put their hands up and say the party is over. 

[Bedrag Justesen]

3 hours ago, longtomsilver said:

£120k to live in a 1 bedroom flat above an Iceland in Rugeley.

Save a fortune on taxis.

[Ash4781b]

16 hours ago, spygirl said:

16 hours ago, spygirl said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57837864

Death spiral.

Cut, profits fall further, so cut more ...

 

“It will invest in customer service roles and "visual merchandising to make our shops look their best to entice customers", the retailer said.”

Ok I thought the other day maybe I will pop to a physical John Lewis store just to see what they have? My Nearest store is of course permanently closed. Ok next nearest store . yep also permanently closed. I did not bother to find the next one. How will they entice people?

I don’t think their brand is as strong as they think it is to transfer to online. They’ve closed lots of the stores and that article suggests to me they are cutting managers and empowering staff to manage I guess. Looks like they have blown up the John Lewis side of the business!

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by Ash4781b

[Ash4781b]

6 hours ago, Roger_Mellie said:

The middle is gone, its just that no one wants to put their hands up and say the party is over. 

Well the middle class go to Aldi. Well that’s what they say. Take a step back hang on why am I hear and not in Waitrose ?

[spygirl]

9 hours ago, longtomsilver said:

The company in this photo is making an absolute packet turning their retail property into residential living space. 

£120k to live in a 1 bedroom flat above an Iceland in Rugeley. No wonder the owner is edging close to reaching billionaire status. Seems John Lewis want a piece of the pie.

You can buy a two bedroom terrace in the same town for less than that.

Renting not buying.

Banks wont lend mortgages on flats above shops.

But theidea is sound - lots of empty space above shops.

Might you, theres lots of empty *n* shops these days.

 

8 hours ago, eta-carinae said:

I note the addition of the word "living" after Apartment...

Perhaps the unfortunate prisoners in their first floor cell need reminding?

Icelands OK.

Fuckers shut up at 5pm.

I rarely go in. And when I do I regret it.

 

 

[Frank Hovis]

2 hours ago, Ash4781b said:

“It will invest in customer service roles and "visual merchandising to make our shops look their best to entice customers", the retailer said.”

Ok I thought the other day maybe I will pop to a physical John Lewis store just to see what they have? My Nearest store is of course permanently closed. Ok next nearest store . yep also permanently closed. I did not bother to find the next one. How will they entice people?

I don’t think their brand is as strong as they think it is to transfer to online. They’ve closed lots of the stores and that article suggests to me they are cutting managers and empowering staff to manage I guess. Looks like they have blown up the John Lewis side of the business!

 

 

John Lewis reminds me of the wizard in the Terry Pratchett book who didn't die when he was supposed to because Death was on holiday.

He was walking around and eating as normal but he made the other wizards uneasy so they avoided him.

Like that wizard John Lewis should be dead but is still shuffling around.

The honourable action to take would be to wind it up now and give all of its workers, partners, a decent pay-off.

Instead that pay-off money is going to be all pissed away on a career civil servant's ideas of how to run a retail business: be more welcoming, diversity, social housing (!).

I suppose it could have been worse; they could have appointed Dido Harding.