John Lewis & Partners is a British brand of high-end department stores operating throughout the United Kingdom, with concessions also located in Ireland. The brand sells general merchandise as part of the John Lewis Partnership. It was created by Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, John Lewis, in 1929. From 1925 to 2022, the chain had a policy that it would always at least match a lower price offered by a national high street competitor; this pledge was known by the name "Never Knowingly Undersold".
The flagship John Lewis & Partners store on Oxford Street in London
John Lewis store in Cardiff
John Lewis Oxford Street store damaged during The Blitz, 1940
The first John Lewis store in Birmingham opened in 2015; the store closed in 2020 due to financial challenges
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to the north, with Soho and Mayfair to its immediate south. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as of 2012 had approximately 300 shops. It is designated as part of the A40, a major road between London and Fishguard, though it is not signed as such, and traffic is regularly restricted to buses and taxis.
View east along Oxford Street in May 2016
Oxford Street in 1875 (looking towards the present-day site of Selfridges on the right).
Marshall & Snelgrove's department store building of 1870.
Former Waring & Gillow store of 1906 ('United Kingdom House').