John Lewis (department store founder)
Encyclopedia
John Lewis was the founder of the John Lewis
department store
on Oxford Street
, London
.
, Somerset
, England
into a Jewish family and became an orphan at the age of seven. He was brought up by an aunt, Miss Ann Speed. Having served as an apprentice to a local draper from the age of fourteen he moved to London to become a silk buyer in the capital, working in Peter Robinson's Department Store at Oxford Circus
by the time he was 20.
with twenty £1000 notes in his pocket and bought Peter Jones
. Sales at Peter Jones had been falling since 1902 and its new owner failed to reverse the trend. In 1914 he handed control of the store to his son Spedan.
of his Holles Street premises, Lord Howard de Walden
. The litigation went through the courts for twenty-three years and cost Lewis 40,000 pounds. At one point he was sent to Brixton Jail for contempt of court
, and De Walden sued him for libel following his erection of placards at this stores. The case was eventually settled amicably.
, Gorringes and Owen Owen
. His management style led to conflict with his sons who disagreed with his business methods. It was only after his death that the company was transformed into the John Lewis Partnership
, a worker co-operative.
. In 1888 he was nominated to St Marylebone Vestry, and remained a member of that body, and the successor Metropolitan Borough Council
until 1919. From 1901– 1907 he was a member of the London County Council
, representing West Marylebone
on behalf of the Liberal-backed majority Progressive Party
.
, born 1885, and Oswald
, born 1887. John Lewis remained in full control of his Oxford Street store until his death. He died at his Hampstead
home "Spedan Towers" in 1928 at the age of 92.
John Lewis (department store)
-Recent developments:In June 2004, John Lewis announced plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland at the Sprucefield Park development, the province's largest out of town shopping centre, located outside Lisburn and from Belfast. The application was approved in June 2005 and the opening of...
department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
on Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Background
John Lewis was born in Shepton MalletShepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet is a small rural town and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset in South West England. Situated approximately south of Bristol and east of Wells, the town is estimated to have a population of 9,700. It contains the administrative headquarters of Mendip District Council...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
into a Jewish family and became an orphan at the age of seven. He was brought up by an aunt, Miss Ann Speed. Having served as an apprentice to a local draper from the age of fourteen he moved to London to become a silk buyer in the capital, working in Peter Robinson's Department Store at Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus is the area of London at the busy intersection of Regent Street and Oxford Street, in the West End. It is served by Oxford Circus tube station, which is directly beneath the junction itself.- History :...
by the time he was 20.
Formation
In 1864 John Lewis opened his own small drapery shop, John Lewis & Co., at 132 Oxford Street (later renumbered), on part of the same site as the present John Lewis department store. The business flourished and expanded and was rebuilt in the 1880s to form an all-encompassing department store.Further purchases
In 1905 tradition has it that John Lewis walked from Oxford Street to Sloane SquareSloane Square
Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the fashionable London districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, located southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The square is part of the Hans Town area designed in 1771 by Henry...
with twenty £1000 notes in his pocket and bought Peter Jones
Peter Jones (department store)
Peter Jones is a large, established and exclusive department store in central London. It is owned by John Lewis Partnership and located in Sloane Square, Chelsea.-History :...
. Sales at Peter Jones had been falling since 1902 and its new owner failed to reverse the trend. In 1914 he handed control of the store to his son Spedan.
Dispute with Baron de Walden
Lewis engaged in a protracted legal dispute with the ground landlordGround rent
Ground rent, sometimes known as a rentcharge, is a regular payment required under a lease from the owner of leasehold property, payable to the freeholder. A ground rent is created when a freehold piece of land or a building is sold on a long lease...
of his Holles Street premises, Lord Howard de Walden
Thomas Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden
Thomas Evelyn Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden, 4th Baron Seaford , was a British peer, landowner, writer and patron of the arts. He was also a motorboat racer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.-Biography:...
. The litigation went through the courts for twenty-three years and cost Lewis 40,000 pounds. At one point he was sent to Brixton Jail for contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
, and De Walden sued him for libel following his erection of placards at this stores. The case was eventually settled amicably.
Management style
Lewis was regarded as an autocratic employer, prone to dismissing staff arbitrarily. The stores had difficulty retaining staff (there was a strike in 1920) and performed poorly compared to his rivals such as WhiteleysWhiteleys
Whiteleys is a shopping centre in London, England. It was London's first department store, located in the Bayswater area. The store's main entrance was located on Queensway.-History:...
, Gorringes and Owen Owen
Owen Owen
Owen Owen was a Liverpool-based operator of department stores in the United Kingdom.- The man :Owen Owen was born in October 1847 and died on Easter Sunday in 1910 at the age of 62....
. His management style led to conflict with his sons who disagreed with his business methods. It was only after his death that the company was transformed into the John Lewis Partnership
John Lewis Partnership
The John Lewis Partnership is an employee-owned UK partnership which operates John Lewis department stores, Waitrose supermarkets and a number of other services...
, a worker co-operative.
Politics
Politically, Lewis was a LiberalLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
. In 1888 he was nominated to St Marylebone Vestry, and remained a member of that body, and the successor Metropolitan Borough Council
Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone
The Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. It was based directly on the previously existing civil parish of St Marylebone, which was incorporated into the Metropolitan Board of Works area in 1855, retaining a parish vestry, and...
until 1919. From 1901– 1907 he was a member of the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
, representing West Marylebone
Marylebone West (UK Parliament constituency)
Marylebone West was a borough constituency located in the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone, in London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
on behalf of the Liberal-backed majority Progressive Party
Progressive Party (London)
The Progressive Party was a political party based around the Liberal Party that contested municipal elections in the County of London.It was founded in 1888 by a group of Liberals and leaders of the labour movement. It was also supported by the Fabian Society, and Sidney Webb was one of its...
.
Personal life
In 1884 John Lewis married Eliza Baker, a schoolmistress from a family of West Country drapers. They had two children, John SpedanJohn Spedan Lewis
John Spedan Lewis was a British businessman and the founder of the John Lewis Partnership.The elder of two sons of John Lewis, who had opened the John Lewis department store on Oxford Street, London, Spedan Lewis joined the business at 19 and in 1914 assumed control of his father's second shop,...
, born 1885, and Oswald
Oswald Lewis
Oswald Lewis was a British businessman, barrister and politician. Born in Hampstead, north west London, he was the younger son of John Lewis, founder of the chain of department stores that bears his name...
, born 1887. John Lewis remained in full control of his Oxford Street store until his death. He died at his Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
home "Spedan Towers" in 1928 at the age of 92.