John Lewis revamps marketing approach as it tackles losses
John Lewis has created a ‘customer planning team’ to make the most out of its marketing budget in stores and online, as it struggles with huge losses.
The upmarket British retailer, famed for its annual tearjerker Christmas ad, has appointed Andreas Nicolaides to lead the new team from October.
John Lewis, which owns Waitrose, said the new role will include “modernising and optimising” the company’s marketing strategies to deepen its relationships with customers and increase commercial value.
In his previous role as general manager for N Brown, a prominent UK online clothing retailer, Nicolaides was responsible for marketing, digital operations, and commercial performance.
Charlotte Lock, John Lewis Partnership’s Customer Director, said: “Andreas brings a wealth of experience as a data driven media and marketing specialist across a very wide portfolio of successful brands.”
Throughout his career, Nicolaides has worked as a performance marketing specialist for several high profile brands including Thomas Cook, The Arcadia Group, Monsoon and Fragrance Direct to boost their marketing performance.
“John Lewis already has huge loyalty from our customers and we are delighted that Andreas will be driving forward our marketing planning to deepen this relationship even further,” Lock added.
The marketing drive comes amid a tough period for the high street stalwart after it reported losses of £234m in 2022.
It blamed the second consecutive year of losses on inflation, which has dried up the wallets of its middle class customer base.
Last month John Lewis property boss Chris Harris resigned after five years, placing further pressure on the struggling retailer’s chair Dame Sharon White.