Any news from John Lewis, one of the UK’s most beloved retailers, inevitably makes headlines. But has the decision to bring back the “Never Knowingly Undersold” promise been the right move?
Andy Lipscombe, Director of Brand Strategy at FreshBritain, leverages his experience in building global brands to explain why John Lewis exemplifies the best of British values and why the decision resonates well with the public.
Andy is available for interviews to elaborate on his insights. He remarks:
“The UK has a special place in its heart for John Lewis. It’s one of those relatively unique businesses that can boast loyalty across generations.
So not surprisingly there’s been a huge amount of noise around the return of their ’Never Knowingly Undersold’ mantra. Some of the reaction has been positive, but not all. Is it really a U-turn? Hardly. It was abandoned two years ago and, in that time, the high street and online shopping have changed a lot. So why not have a rethink?
Sure, its ‘price promise’ might be a bit complicated and convoluted. I for one didn’t realise it only applies to branded goods and to certain named retailers.
But I think it’s a welcome return from one of our favourite homegrown retailers. It shows that it understands the enduring authority of its brand and the powerful emotional connection it enjoys with customers.
From 1925 when ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ was first introduced, John Lewis found a place in our hearts by making us think ‘quality’, but feel ’truth’. Its promise to the nation showed that it understood the true meaning of value, and the true needs of customers. Those were incredibly pioneering principles for the time. That promise signalled a deal that was never ’too good to be true’ and positioned the retailer as a trusted advisor who reassured us that we were doing the right thing by purchasing from them.
This reassurance is more important than ever as we slowly move out of a cost-of-living crisis, a crisis that has given us constant price increases that are hard to understand and justify.
And in a world of shopping where deals are not always what they appear to be – many of us have found out the hard way that Black Friday promotions can be a sham – we are craving the honesty and transparency that the return of the John Lewis price promise brings.
And here’s the other thing. The British public might not always want simply the very cheapest price. More importantly they don’t want to be fooled. They want a fair price for a good product, from someone they know and trust, that’s delivered to them with reassuringly high levels of customer service. And this is what John Lewis uniquely understands.
Over 100 years John Lewis has become that rare commodity, a British institution built on fairness and dependability that showed us time and again it could be trusted and relied upon. These are quintessentially British values.
Since its inception John Lewis has been leading with a noble cause, giving the great British public a fair deal. I think that gives the retailer the right to change its mind and do what it think is best, especially when as is the case with ’Never Knowingly Undersold’ John Lewis was the original price guarantee pioneer.