John Spedan Lewis
Encyclopedia
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, Peter Jones
in Sloane Square
, London.
After assuming control of the Oxford Street store with his father's death in 1928, Spedan Lewis officially formed the John Lewis Partnership, and began the distribution of profits among its employees (known as "partners") in 1929, and completed the move towards employee-ownership
in 1950, with the transfer of control to the employees.
Spedan Lewis resigned as chairman in 1955, and was known within the company from that point on as "The Founder". In retirement, he lived at Longstock Park
, near the village of Longstock
in Hampshire
until his death. In accordance with his wishes he was buried at sea.
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...
.
The elder of two sons of John Lewis
John Lewis (department store founder)
John Lewis was the founder of the John Lewis department store on Oxford Street, London.-Background:John Lewis was born in Shepton Mallet, 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...
, who had opened the John Lewis
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, Spedan Lewis joined the business at 19 and in 1914 assumed control of his father's second shop, 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 :...
in Sloane Square
Sloane 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...
, London.
After assuming control of the Oxford Street store with his father's death in 1928, Spedan Lewis officially formed the John Lewis Partnership, and began the distribution of profits among its employees (known as "partners") in 1929, and completed the move towards employee-ownership
Employee-owned corporation
An employee share ownership plan is the practice of companies giving staff members shares in their company as part of their salary....
in 1950, with the transfer of control to the employees.
Spedan Lewis resigned as chairman in 1955, and was known within the company from that point on as "The Founder". In retirement, he lived at Longstock Park
Longstock Park
Longstock Park is a country estate in the civil parish of Longstock in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Formerly Longstock Manor, of medieval origins, it was purchased by Sir Joshua East in the nineteenth century. On his death, the estate passed to his sons Alfred and Arthur. In...
, near the village of Longstock
Longstock
Longstock is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It lies on the western bank of the River Test, to the north and west of Stockbridge and east of Leckford. The parish has a population of around 450...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
until his death. In accordance with his wishes he was buried at sea.
Books by and about John Spedan Lewis
- John Spedan Lewis 1885–1963: Remembered by Some of his Contemporaries in the Centenary Year of His Birth with the editor being Hugh Macpherson. Mainly black and white, colour plates relating to the business of the John Lewis Partnership and links with Waitrose Supermarkets With a foreword by Peter Lewis. Includes biographies of executives, and an index.
- Partnership for all by John Spedan Lewis, founder of the John Lewis partnership : a thirty-four year old experiment in industrial democracy (1948)
- Fairer shares : a possible advance in civilisation and perhaps the only alternative to communism (1954)
- Inflation's cause and cure (1958)