John Lewis and Waitrose unveil new brand names
The John Lewis Partnership has added ‘& Partners’ to the names of its John Lewis department store and Waitrose supermarket chains as part of a rebrand.
From now on the retailers will be known as John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners. The change has been made to highlight the company’s Partnership business model and culture as it looks to differentiate itself from its main competitors.
This morning ‘John Lewis & Partners’ and ‘Waitrose & Partners’ signs were unveiled on the facades of John Lewis’s flagship shop on Oxford Street, its shop at White City, Westfield, and Waitrose’s shops in Edgware Road and Clerkenwell in London. The new branding has also been rolled out on johnlewis.com and waitrose.com and on carrier bags, uniforms, trolleys, marketing activity, internal shop signs and selected lorries and vans.
Changes to all 348 Waitrose and 50 John Lewis shop facades and the combined fleet of 3,500 lorries and vans will be phased over a number of years to coincide with shop refurbishments.
In addition, John Lewis’s largest own brand womenswear collection of 300 designs went on sale today carrying the new name. The retailer has also launched its first own-brand gifting collection called ‘Find Keep Give’ where most items have been designed in-house by Partners.
Paula Nickolds, John Lewis & Partners managing director, said: “Our Partnership business model and the inherent strength of our Partners really sets us apart. That’s why the change to our visual identity this week puts Partners back at the heart of everything we do. This move not only reflects the business we have become but more importantly, the business we want to be.”
Changes will be made to the packaging of Waitrose own label product ranges from October, starting with the new Christmas range later this year and the launch of a new ‘Free From’ range in October.
Rob Collins, Waitrose & Partners managing director, said: “This moment is far more significant than simply adding words and changing the design. It symbolises something bigger, expressing what’s different about our business and signalling our intent to make that difference count for even more: committed, knowledgeable Partners who care about the business they own, sharing their love of food and offering great customer service.”
The launch of the new identity is being supported by the first ever joint John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners national marketing campaign featuring a new TV and cinema advert with the tag line ‘For us, it’s personal’.
The campaign includes a manifesto which will appear in print ads and will be spoken by real Partners from both John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners in a film played in John Lewis & Partners’ shops.
