The Big Question: Should John Lewis scrap its ‘never knowingly undersold’ pledge?

Catherine Shuttleworth, chief executive, Savvy

In a year of complete change and disruption, it’s hardly surprising that even John Lewis is having to make some major changes. 

Abandoning its famous never knowingly undersold proposition may allow the partnership the freedom to drive its own agenda rather than being shackled in a price race to the bottom with everyone else. 

Because in 2020, that’s the rub: it really is everyone else. From local retailers with outstanding service to global ecommerce platforms with sophisticated dynamic pricing, every retailer everywhere is who John Lewis has ended up unwittingly taking on when it comes to price. No business in the world can both watch and match that level of pricing and turn a profit. 

An honest promise to never knowingly be undersold was one thing, but circumstances mean now it’s only a statement of intent. There aren’t enough hours in the day for John Lewis to deliver this any longer.

This leaves the bigger question: why should I shop at John Lewis anymore? It’s a question Sharon White and her team need to answer, and quickly. 

Her fair value for all proposition is worthy but will shoppers buy it? Value is perceived, after all, and the retail world in the UK is anything but fair. Never knowingly undersold must not be replaced by never knowingly underwhelmed.

Kate Hardcastle, founder, Insight with Passion

Crisis translates as ‘a dangerous opportunity’ in Japanese. We find ourselves at a critical point in retail with all that Covid-19 has inflicted on an already evolving landscape.  

For years, heightened customer intelligence has put pressure on prices and driven sales online with stores increasingly just being used for ‘showrooming’. 

When Sharon White became chair at John Lewis Partnership, some challenged her lack of industry knowledge. Yet with years of experience as a consumer champion at Ofcom, was this the breakthrough from ‘retailer’ to ‘consumer brand’ JLP needed?

How many more years could they rely on a big-budget Christmas ad complete with a melancholy soundtrack? Or balance the challenge of creating upmarket store destinations with the need to satisfy the never knowingly undersold’ promise? All while competition raced to the bottom with the cheapest possible prices.   

Expect more announcements like its furniture rental scheme and more bold moves as this department store navigates a precarious path to a future worth having.  

Some will be the right moves, some will fail, but with the customer as your guide, you can’t fall too far.

Sofie Wilmott, head of apparel, GlobalData

John Lewis’ price promise has been a key part of its unique selling point in the past, reassuring shoppers that it will offer the best value on branded items, alongside often generous guarantees coupled with excellent customer service. 

However, Sharon White is wise to adapt and evolve the retailer’s proposition as the heavily promotional trading environment shows no signs of waning and the price promise is costing John Lewis its profits.

Joining the partnership six months ago amid some of the toughest times on record in retail and for department store players especially, White has had more to deal with than she could have possibly imagined. However, she has proved that she is more than willing to make drastic changes and steer the retailer in a new direction in order to survive. 

Unlike competitors such as Debenhams and House of Fraser, which continue to look lost and forlorn in the dwindling hope their customers will one day return, John Lewis is taking steps to adjust to changing consumer shopping habits to try to safeguard its future.