The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has kicked off its biggest-ever recruitment drive for the festive period.
The group wants to hire 12,500 temporary staff across its John Lewis and Waitrose stores and distribution network. This is 4,100 more compared to last year, with JLP saying it was part of its “commitment to customer experience”.
Waitrose will start recruiting for 7,700 seasonal roles across more than 300 shops in the coming weeks, including supermarket assistants, night shift workers and delivery drivers. Recruitment for 2,000 temporary roles for its 34 John Lewis stores is already underway.
In addition, JLP is looking to fill 2,800 roles in its supply chain through its recruitment agencies, including warehouse workers and drivers to support the expected increase in online orders across the two retailers.
The group revealed that it has already witnessed strong demand for Christmas products in recent weeks, with volumes of its Waitrose Christmas range up 25% year-on-year and sales of decorations from its John Lewis Christmas shop up 20%.
Last week, Executive Director Peter Ruis said that John Lewis was “quietly optimistic” about trading in the run-up to Christmas despite the prospect of tax rises at this week’s budget.
“You tend to get a feel for these things, and what we’ve seen is this optimism build as we’ve gone into the autumn season,” he told reporters during a media event at its Oxford Street store.
He noted that both John Lewis and Waitrose were both currently trading ahead of their Christmas plans. “We have a budget every year, there’s a lot of press interest because it’s the first of this government. I don’t generally find it’s a huge thing for customers,” said Ruis.
NAM Implications:
- The John Lewis Partnership continue to invest in growth.
- Are you taking sufficient steps to ensure your fair share of sales & investment?
