John Lewis to retire ‘never knowingly undersold’ pledge

John Lewis has announced that it is set to reveal a new company slogan on 22 August, retiring its 97-year-old price pledge of “never knowingly undersold”. The retailer first revealed the pledge was under review in March 2020, a month after Sharon White joined as chair.

The Guardian reported that the department store announced in February plans to retire the old slogan in the summer of 2022 due to the price promise not applying to online-only retailers, while shoppers are “increasingly” buying online.

Under the old slogan, which John Lewis introduced in 1925, the chain reportedly refunded customers the difference if they find the same item on sale elsewhere for a lower price within 28 days. This rule only applied to retailers with a national chain of physical stores.

According to The Guardian, the scheme cost the retailer “millions of pounds” as it was forced to cut prices whenever a competitor held a sale. As a result, the slogan is being retired as department stores face “heavy” competition from Amazon and other online specialists, and a surge in costs from energy to staffing.

Explaining its decision, John Lewis told The Guardian that it was scrapping the historic pledge in order to focus on “everyday quality and value”.

In a bid to honour its focus on “everyday quality and value”, John Lewis also revealed its plan to invest £500m this year in lowering prices to deliver on their pledge as customers face a squeeze on disposable income from the rising cost of living.

The investment is said to also partly help expand John Lewis’s Anyday cut-price range, which it introduced last year.

White reportedly aims to reach profits of £400m by 2025 compared with the loss of £26m reported this year. The plan also involves saving £300m in annual costs by this year and spending £1bn over the five years to 2025 to “revamp” shops and its online business.