John Lewis & Partners (formerly and commonly known as John Lewis) is a brand of high-end department stores operating throughout Great Britain, with concessions also located in the Republic of Ireland and Australia. The brand sells general merchandise as part of the employee-owned mutual organisation known as the John Lewis Partnership, the largest co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was created by Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, John Lewis, in 1929. The chain has promised since 1925 that it is “never knowingly undersold” – it will always at least match a lower price offered by a national high street competitor.
The first John Lewis store was opened in 1864 in Oxford Street, London, and there are now 42 stores throughout Great Britain. The first John Lewis concession in the Republic of Ireland opened in a Dublin Arnotts store in October 2016. In the same year, the first Australian John Lewis concession also opened.
On 1 January 2008, the Oxford Street store was awarded a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II as “suppliers of haberdashery and household goods”. John Lewis & Partners Reading is also the holder of a Royal Warrant from the Queen in 2007 as a supplier of household and fancy goods.
The John Lewis Christmas television advert was first launched in 2007 and it has since become an annual tradition in British culture. It is considered as a sign that the countdown to Christmas has begun.