The John Lewis Partnership is boosting its consumer strategy and capabilities by investing in its brands, data and technology to offer more value to its customers.
The new investments will see the bringing together of the leadership of the John Lewis pan-partnership customer teams and capabilities into a single role.
As a result, John Lewis customer director Claire Pointon has decided to step down following a successful three years in the role delivering a ‘significant programme of change’.
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Charlotte Lock, who joined at the start of last year as pan-partnership customer director, will take on the newly created role, which combines the John Lewis customer activity and the pan-partnership customer responsibilities.
The new role unites brand, strategy, transformation and campaigns to bring extra focus to the partnership’s mission on delivering value to customers.
Lock will have joint reporting lines to the executive director for strategy and commercial development, Nina Bhatia, and executive director for John Lewis, Pippa Wicks.
Waitrose customer director Nathan Ansell will also be working alongside the team to deliver the retailer’s promise of offering its marketing phrase ‘food to feel good about’.
“I would like to thank Claire [Pointon] for the key role she has played over the last three years,” Pippa Wicks said.
“Her creativity and strategic thinking have been behind some of our key strategic shifts and her leadership to drive our customer growth with the launch of our digital transformation, new brand promises and of course our wonderful Christmas campaigns.”
Nina Bhatia added: “We are delighted that Charlotte [Lock] will take up this newly created role.”
Bhatia stated that they want to transform the partnership’s customer capability and “lead the way in how we interact with our customers through fresh investment in brands, loyalty, data and technology.”
She also said: “Since joining us last year, Charlotte has been fundamental to our data driven, marketing transformation plans and the creation of our Building Happier Futures programme to support care experienced people, which was the focus of our Christmas campaign.”
The news comes as Waitrose has launched its 2023 Easter food range, with reduced packaging to save nearly one tonne of plastic from going to landfill.
