These strengths are things the world's second biggest retailer Carrefour can only envy. Whether it is something uniquely Gallic, or the company's unusual ownership structure dominated by one family, turbulence and change always seem to lie around the corner for Europe's biggest retailer.
The departure of Luc Vandevelde this week was inevitable after his falling out with the controlling Halley family and the persistent rumours of private equity interest that Vandevelde was doing nothing to discourage. The Halleys have clearly come out on top in this battle and, combined with his track record at M&S, Vandevelde's image is now tarnished.
As for Carrefour, despite the power of the Halleys, further change is a distinct possibility. Private equity continues to hover, but Wal-Mart and Tesco too must be giving the situation some thought. Rather like Sainsbury's in the UK, there is an opportunity to transform the grocery market, but in the case of Carrefour, it is on a global rather than national scale.
The other burning question is what happens to the investments of Change Capital, the Halley-backed private equity vehicle chaired by Vandevelde and run by his ex-M&S sidekick Roger Holmes.
It owns homewares chain Robert Dyas and young fashion chain Republic. While its spokespeople insist that it's business as usual, with the Halleys and Vandevelde having split - seemingly irrevocably - sooner or later there is bound to be change at Change.
The John Lewis Partnership's results yesterday were every bit as good as expected and reinforce that it has done an extraordinary job of reinventing itself into the quintessential modern retailer.
Some other retailers sneer at John Lewis, accusing it of being old-fashioned and run more like a charity than a business. But beneath the social responsibility, there is a steely edge to the business. There is certainly no charity in the way that it has ruthlessly set about its competitors.
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