Partnership Podcast: Recent Episodes
Partnership Podcast
The Partnership Podcast is a way for all Partners to hear more about what’s happening in their business.
Meets the chairs of two of the Partnership’s newest clubs, the Rugby Club and the Cricket Club, and finds out how they tie in with the Wellbeing team’s focus on community.
We chat to Barry Dick, Beers, Wines & Spirits Sourcing Manager, Waitrose, to find out how sustainable wines can be, and why carbon footprint is important.
Multimedia Content Editor Caroline Cook talks to John Lewis Toys and Books Buyer Catherine McCann about what makes LEGO so popular and why the colourful bricks have such lasting appeal for JL's customers...
Partnership Hotels are an amazing Partner benefit and, with locations across the county, the Partners who work in them tell us what makes each one so special and unique.
We talk to Working Parents Network (WPN) committee members Alison Pearson, James Pogmore and Jim Simpson all about parenting, including the challenges, the moments of joy and how the WPN Peer Support Groups can help with each step of the parenting journey...
In this bonus episode, the Gazette finds out why Waitrose has become an 'Mission Ally' and will use Tony's Open Chain to source cocoa for nine of its chocolate bars.
Pick up the Gazette (17 May 2024) to read the story.
Marija Rompani, Director of Sustainability & Ethics, joins the podcast to chat about the Partnerships new Ethics and Sustainability report 2024, and how the business is doing as it aims to be net zero.
We find out about Waitrose's Farming for Nature commitment. We talk to Andrew Hoad, Head of Leckford, and Jemima Jewell, Head of Agriculture & Responsible Sourcing, about the commitment and what regenerative agriculture is all about
In this week’s Gazette Question Time podcast episode, Multimedia Reporter Josh Block finds out how the Optimisation Experimentation team identifies and delivers optimised customer experiences, personalisation and opportunities that can provide value to the Waitrose online business. Our guest this week is Adam Ireson, Online Trading Optimisation Specialist, Waitrose Online Trading.
We talk to Nic Waller and Liz Hogan about the Partnership's new umbrella foundation, why it was created, and how it will support good causes.
Director of Productivity Claire Young shares what productivity means for the business, how Partners can support it every day and what you need to do to become a Productivity Champion.
For Earth Day, Monday 22 April, Zoë Brady, Ethics & Sustainability Lead, chats about the Partnership’s environmental commitments, including what small changes you can do to help make a big difference.
Wellbeing's Sam Blevins and Online Merchandiser Sabina Ahmed explain why sleep is a superpower and share tips and products for how to make the most of it, especially if you work shifts.
As the Safer Shops initiative progresses into its next phase, Multimedia Reporter Josh Block finds out how new security solutions and enhanced training are supporting the six trial shops so far, and discovers what is coming up next. This week, we hear from James Kerry, Secure by Design Specialist and Issy Devereux, Payment Fraud Manager, who also chairs the Waitrose Shrinkage Steering Group.
Charlotta Elgh, Director of Design, Home, John Lewis, joins the podcast to talk about the new season Home collection, her team's design philosophy, and why Copenhagen is the place to be when you want to see the latest trends
Tina Chinn shares her experience of how being a bone marrow donator helped update the Partnership's Medical and Dental Appointment policy and why she'd encourage others to register
We find out what the Trussell Trust do, how the Partnership works with them to provide millions of meals worth of food, and how Waitrose and John Lewis stores will be getting behind a national food drive initiative.
Menopause: Lifting the Taboo community co-leads Frances Hill and Lizzie Ryan share their experiences of the menopause, discuss how menopause can impact sleep and talk about the support available through the community…
We find out how much money was raised for good causes in the local communities of Waitrose and John Lewis stores, and why Community Matters
Digital Marketing Manager James Liasi shares his experience of being neurodivergent in the Partnership, and we also hear from his Hiring Manager, Matt Darbon.
Jo Thomas, Insight Action & Broadcast Lead and Dean Taylor, Director of Research and Insight talk to Multimedia Reporter Josh Block about The Litehouse, the Partnership’s new research and analytics portal from the Data Insight & Analytics team
Partnership Swimmers' committee member Andréa Crichton and Chair of the Partnership Running Club James Holton chat about Partnership clubs and societies in the Gazette Question Time podcast
To mark National Apprenticeship Week 2024, Bupesh Jain chats with three Partners who have taken part in their own apprenticeships.
Wellbeing's Sam Blevins shares why sleep is so important when it comes to your wellbeing, giving some tips and hints for a good nights' sleep for both larks and night owls, plus how to find out more on PartnerChoice.co.uk.
Nicky Clifford-Goss, Bethan Boyden and Damian Peters from the Pride in the Partnership Network join this week’s podcast to talk about LGBTQIA+ History Month, the new PiPs magazine and more…
Queralt Ferrer, Director of Design, Fashion, John Lewis, talks to Bupesh Jain about some of her favourite pieces from the new season womenswear collection, and how important it is to invest in pieces that will last for years to come.
Bupesh Jains sat down with Dean Taylor, Director of Research & Insight, JL Partnership, to find out what the research says will be the trends emerging in 2024.
Tom Richards, Commercial Lead, shares a glimpse into the world of international sales and where in the world you can find Waitrose products
As the newest member of the Partnership Board, Elected Director John Lee, Resilience Lead, chats about his day job, why he applied to become an elected director and what he is looking forward as he joins Jules Rushworth, Branch Manager, WR Dorking, and David Wood, Real Estate Senior Development Manager, Dispose & Acquire, as an elected director on the Partnership Board.
Diversity and Inclusion Lead Leona Smith joins this week’s podcast to talk about Diversity & Inclusion in the Partnership, and what’s to come in the D&I space for 2024…
Charlotte Lock, Customer Director, John Lewis & Pan Partnership, and Rosie Hanley, Director of Marketing, John Lewis & Pan Partnership, join the Gazette Question Time to talk about the 2023 JL Christmas advert, Snapper - The perfect tree #TraditionsGrow
Matt Clifton, Head of Retail, Lean Simple Fast Shop Programme Lead, and Neil Westbrook, Head of Retail, London and South East join this week’s podcast to talk about Simpler Shops in Waitrose
Stuart McDonald, Branch Manager, Herbert Parkinson, is retiring from the Partnership after more than 20 years in the business. He has led the manufacturing site after a rich history in weaving in the north of England. The Gazette’s Bupesh Jain sat down with Stuart to hear his story.
People Policy Advice (PPA) plays a key role in the lives of Partners, supporting them on a wide variety of policy-related topics and issues. We caught up with People Policy Advice Specialists Anna Marshall and Jan Harrison, and Manager, PPA, Catherine Powell, to find out what PPA does and why it’s important.
Store Implementation Manager Jay Hawkins is the winner of Partnership Week’s Green Ticket Gazette Takeover and in this episode shines a spotlight on the Store Implementation team, inviting colleagues Emma Groombridge and Beth Carr to join him to share what the team does.
Multimedia Reporter Bupesh Jain chats all things data, insight and analytics with Barry Panayi, Chief Data & Insight Officer in the latest Gazette Question Time podcast.
As the business nears peak trade the Gazette sat down with Naomi Simcock, Executive Director, John Lewis, to chat about the second half, the challenges the businesses face, and what will make it a successful peak.
As the business nears peak trade the Gazette sat down with James Bailey, Executive Director, Waitrose, to chat about the second half, the challenges the businesses face, and what will make it a successful peak.
October is Black History Month and Partners share what the business is doing to raise awareness and celebrate the contributions of black people and culture in British society.
Zoe Simons, Product Innovation and Executive Chef, Waitrose, joins the podcast to talk about Japan Menyū, the latest own-brand range that has been launched by the supermarket.
Zoe chats about developing the range, the tastes she explored, and how to create your own amazing Japan Menyū feast.
Bupesh Jain sat down with Lizzie Conlon, Innovations Manager, Waitrose, to find out just how she predicts food trends and what we should be eating if we want to be at the cutting edge.
Violence and abuse against people working in retail have almost doubled on pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Crime Survey, while the financial toll of retail crime grew to a total cost of £1.76 billion in 2021/22. It’s a national issue and one which has been in the media spotlight recently, with Partnership Chairman Sharon White even discussing the issue on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
To find out what’s been going on from a Partnership perspective, and to hear about measures taking place to support Partners, Multimedia Reporter Josh Block sat down with Nicki Juniper, Head of Security & Shrinkage.
Wellbeing Manager Matt Day chats about September's Money Month and the resources available to support Partners with their financial wellbeing
Two Waitrose Partners visited Kenya and saw first-hand the positive impact the Waitrose Foundation is having in grower and producer communities.
Working Parents Network Co-Leads Becky Candy and Leanne Chalmers talk about summer holidays, what the network offers, and the working parent juggle.
Following the announcement that the Partnership has announced a five-year, £100 million strategic partnership with Google Cloud, the Gazette sat down with Zak Mian, Chief Transformation and Technology Officer, to find out what it means for Partners and customers.
The Director of Security and Central Operations talks about how the business is tackling shoplifting
In this episode, we look at how the business interacts with its external partnerships, featuring guests from the Third Party Service Delivery team. Multimedia Reporter Josh Block chats to Jess Ireland-Wells, Third Party Service Delivery Lead, Jessica Lowden, Brand Assurance Manager, and Mark Harris, Brand Assurance Coach.
Multimedia Reporter Josh Block catches up on all things Employee Ownership with Jo Undrell, Democratic Vitality Capability Lead, Gamal Lewis, Democratic Vitality Consultant Lead, and Matthew Heap, Democratic Vitality Specialist, in the latest Gazette Question Time podcast.
As the Simpler Shops programme rolls out across Waitrose, we spoke to Central Implementation & Planning Lead Daniel Morehead, WR Enfield Team Manager James Russell and Leighton Buzzard Supermarket Assistant David Park to find out more.
Partnership Week is in full swing and to celebrate the occasion we invited Chairman Sharon White to join us on the Gazette Question Time podcast. Sharon sat down with Multimedia Content Editor Caroline Cook to chat about all things Partnership - why it’s a great place to work, why we all have a responsibility to help it thrive, and why Partners really are the nicest people you’ll meet.
The new PartnerChoice App is out and Raph Hewett, Wellbeing Publicity Specialist, chats about how it will help Partners find great offers and deals wherever they are and where they can download it from.
Innovation Lead Danielle joins the podcast to talk about the rise of rental fashion and how John Lewis is making an impact in the market. Find out about John Lewis's own Fashion Rental service and its partnership with thelittleloop...
Charlotte and Nathan join the podcast to chat about the second wave of the Waitrose value campaign.
Find out how the first wave went, the reaction from customers and which products are in Charlotte and Nathan's baskets.
Waitrose's beef buyer joins the podcast to chat about how the supermarket is embracing native breed beef cattle and taking inspiration from high end restaurants when it comes to joins for Waitrose No.1
With sunshine starting to peek through the clouds, summer may finally be on its way, and that means many of us have started getting our outdoor spaces ready for summer. Whether you’ve got a small balcony, a patio or a garden, John Lewis has a range of furniture to help you make the most of your outdoor space and enjoy summer in style. We caught up with Outdoor Living Buyer Gabrielle Anderson to find out about the key trends and furniture pieces for this year, and we also asked Gabrielle to share her top tips on getting outdoor spaces ready for summer.
Bupesh Jain is joined by Marija Rompani, Director of Sustainability & Ethics, to chat about the latest Ethics & Sustainability report, which was published this week.
Marjia talks about the successes the business has achieved in its goal to get to net zero, and why even during a cost of living crisis, it's important to be ethical and environmentally aware.
Caroline Cook sat down with Chris Earnshaw, President of Partnership Council, Johnny Aisher, Manager of Partnership Council and Poppy Kidd, Councillor and member of the Planning Committee, to find out more about May's council meeting, and new wording for the Holding to Account vote.
We sat down with Katherine Russell, Head of Build to Rent, to hear about the latest developments, and why BTR isn't a distraction for the Partnership.
The new interim Executive Director, John Lewis, joins the podcast to chat about the brand's objectives this year, how JL will seize the moment and what it will take to return to profit.
In this episode of Gazette Question time, we chat to Lisa Devine Senior Analyst in Data, Insight and Analytics, about apprenticeships and women in Data.
As Horsham fully reopens to customers, the Gazette Question Time podcast finds out how the innovations and additions to the branch could change how customers shop at the business.
The team behind the refurbishment of Waitrose Kings Road joins the podcast to talk about how the project became a five year marathon, the challenges they faced, and the branch manager talks to us about how excited the store's team is to be getting a brand new shop.
Queralt Ferrer, Director of Design, Fashion, joins the Gazette Question Time podcast to talk about her first collection since joining the business.
Talking on the Gazette Question Time podcast, Queralt chats about how her team approached developing designs for own-brand labels, that it was important to give customers a versatility with their options and despite what some journalists may have you believe, John Lewis isn’t getting out of the floral print trend.
Gazette multimedia reporter Bupesh Jain talks with Emily, Global Brand Ambassador, and eighth generation of the famed Goslings Rum business, about how her diagnoses completely changed her life, how she got through treatment, and how it's changed her.
Charlotta Elgh, Director of Design, Home, shares her thoughts on the new Spring Summer home collection at John Lewis in this episode of Gazette Question Time.
With two different distinguished style statements, modern and classic, this collection has kick started a new design direction all about simplicity. Charlotta says it as easy as 1, 2, 3... One main colour, two styles, in three different price levels.
Waitrose is investing £100m to lower prices across hundreds of everyday products.
The massive value campaign will mean almost a third of the Waitrose Essential range will receive an average 14% price cut, while products like cheese, butter, bananas and pork sausages will also be cheaper.
The Gazette’s Bupesh Jain sat down with James Bailey, Executive Director, Waitrose, to talk about the value campaign. You can watch the interview below, or click on the link above.
You can watch the interview, in full, on the Gazette website. Or read a condensed version of the interview in the Gazette PDF magazine, available from Friday 17 February.
To coincide with National Apprenticeship Week, the Gazette chats with two Partners to find out what it's like being an apprentice.
In this episode Multimedia Reporter Bupesh Jain is joined by former apprentices Claire Scott, Waitrose Okehampton, and Sam Kelly, Online Category Manager eCommerce, Online Trading Management, Waitrose. He is also joined by Preeti Sumal and Hannah Claus, Progression.
Following the announcement of the Partnership’s Building Happier Futures programme, and that it would be working with the charities Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland, the Gazette sat down with Imran Hussain from Action for Children to talk about the work they do, and how they will be working with the Partnership.
Welcome to Episode 6 of the Partnership Podcast 3rd series - our final podcast of the series. This latest episode offers an introduction into how we are improving the John Lewis customer experience through a project called “Pain Points”.
In this episode, we hear from guests Claire Pointon, Ray Biggs and Jillian Fergusson.
In this episode host Bethany Nicholls talks to Leona Smith, Diversity & Inclusion Lead about the launch of our Diversity & Inclusion Plan and her aspirations for the future of this work.
Want to know the John Lewis definition of service? Then this is the episode for you!
Service has always been an integral part of the John Lewis brand, but over the years we have heard from customers that for some customers their experience is below their expectations and can be inconsistent depending on how they decide to interact with us.
In this episode, we hear from Jasmin Wheeler, Customer Experience, Richard Warmsley, Head of Customer Experience, Caitlin McLean, Customer Delivery Resolution Manager, Louise Wenn, Operations Manager, and Felicity Pollock, Head of Product about the new John Lewis Experience Principles and Service Standards.
Looking after Partners is key and we’ve been investing in Partners' health and wellbeing since 1929, 19 years before the NHS – when we introduced free in-house health and medical services to all our Partners. Today, this continues through the new Health and Wellbeing team. Check out this week's podcast to meet some of this team, and find out what the John Lewis Partnership has to offer!
In this week's episode, we talk about all things Democracy! What is Democracy? How did it begin in the Partnership? What is Democratic Vitality? These questions will be answered by this week's guests Chris Earnshaw, Partner & President Partnership Council, and colleagues Ellen Fox, Jane Barnett-Roberts, and Jeran Kent.
In this first episode to kick of series 3 of the Partnership Podcast, Anya Gillespie and Sim Sanni, two Independent Advisors shed light on why the Independent Side was created, what the team does and the importance of them, encouraging Partners to get in touch.
Welcome to Episode 10 of the Partnership Podcast 2nd series - our final podcast of the series. This latest episode offers an insight into our ethics and sustainability strategy, following on from the launch of our Ethics & Sustainability Progress report last week.
Host Bethany Nicholls is joined by guest Marija Rompani, Director of Ethics & Sustainability, who explores our key areas of focus, what we are doing well, where we could improve and where we want to be.
You'd be forgiven for not knowing much about these reports, but they're important for Partners as co-owners to understand. In this special episode Bethany Nicholls talks to Clare Matthai, Senior Manager, External Financial Reporting and Policy, Emma Sullivan, Assistant Company Secretary and Kate Towler, CSR Reporting & Assurance Manager about the information in the report and what they think Partners should read.
In this Partnership Podcast episode Bethany Nicholls chats to James Bailey, Executive Director, Waitrose about the short and long term vision and priorities for Waitrose over the next 2 to 5 years and how they support the Partnership Plan.
Welcome to Episode 8 of the Partnership Podcast 2nd series - which introduces ANYDAY, the new entry tier own brand from John Lewis. This latest episode provides you with all the key information you need to know about the new value offering from John Lewis.
In this special episode on Diversity & Inclusion Josephine Hatch, Insight Manager and Adnan Siddiqui, Supply Chain Planning Manager and Network Lead for the Partnership Faith, Belief and Religion network talk about the work they've recently been involved in on Ramadan and Eid in the Partnership.
On this weeks episode of the Partnership Podcast - James Bailey, Partner & Executive Director for Waitrose, and Elen Ormson, Partner & Brand Manager talk about the Waitrose Duchy Organic brand, its heritage, their favourite items, and how it links with our Partnership Plan - Force For Good. Get your Waitrose Duchy Organic snacks at the ready as this podcast will leave you feeling hungry for more!
Welcome to Episode 6 of our 2nd series of the Partnership Podcast. This latest episode provides further insight into the Partner Plan - an introduction of which was provided by John Vary and Catherine Muirden in episode 2.
In this episode we welcome back John, Futurologist, who this time is joined by Akrum Soliman, Team Manager at John Lewis Oxford Street, to discuss how young minds are helping to shape our Partner Plan and the importance they play in bringing it to life.
Welcome to Episode 4 of our 2nd series of the Partnership Podcast. This latest episode focuses on the progress of Waitrose.com over the last 12 months. Laura Burbedge, Director of Online and Steve Raisey, Mission 2020 Lead discuss how we have adapted to the challenges and opportunities that this last year has presented.
Who's up for a new episode of the Partnership Podcast? We've got a special one for you this week. It's been an incredible year and we've all been stretched and transformed how we work. Josh Block, Gazette Reporter, talks to Berangere Michele, Executive Director, Finance, about her role and our Full Year Results, which forms one part of the Partnership's performance.
This one is a must listen! Episode 2 of series 2 of the Partnership Podcast covers The Partner Plan, which is the missing but critical piece of the The Partnership Plan. John Vary, Futurologist and Catherine Muirden, Director of People Transformation talk about the work they're doing on what it feels like to work here, and what makes employment in a co-owned business different.
Are you ready for a brand new series of the Partnership Podcast? Series two kicks off by delving deeper into the Retail Customers Love outcome of the Partnership Plan and specifically how we plan to bring the best of John Lewis and Waitrose together.
In this episode we hear from Zoe Brady, Better Together Business Lead and Kate Adams, Change & Standards Manager about how we're delivering new and differential services for our customers.