Who was John Lewis?
John Lewis was an innovative entrepreneur who opened his first store in 1864, on London’s Oxford Street, where he sold draperies. He proved to be a savvy business man. Lewis always guaranteed that his prices would be the lowest in the neighborhood, which, of course, attracted many customers and kept them returning to find more bargains. His business and good reputation expanded quickly. John Spedan Lewis was born in 1885 to his store-owner father. He grew up helping in the Oxford Street store, and by the age of 21, Spedan owned one-fourth of the John Lewis department store. That’s quite an accomplishment for someone so young. Spedan Lewis was somewhat of a radical for his day. Actually, “visionary” might be a better word to describe the young Lewis. He felt that it wasn’t fair for his family to earn so much from their stores while the employees earned so little. Since he firmly believed that loyal employees were the company’s best assets, Spedan wanted to ensure their happiness. He set
