Eastern star

If anything was going to lure Noel Saunders from his role as MD of John Lewis's flagship store in Oxford Street it was the chance to be the managing director of a brand new department store.

'It will be a first for me, and for it to be Stratford City makes it especially exciting,' says Noel.

'To be starting from scratch in this location, with this shop - well, I can't think of any other enterprise I'd rather be involved in.

'It's got everything. It's a stunning building in the amazing Westfield development and at the gateway to the Olympic Park.

'We are opening a new shop in new territory where we will be a key player in one of the most significant regeneration and renewal projects in London for many years.'

On a more personal note, the change of jobs has halved Noel's journey time to work as he lives in east London. And he will be cycling the 20 minutes to work on a bike bought for him as a leaving present by Partners at Oxford Street.

So far, Noel has been managing director of five branches - including Stratford - in his 30-year Partnership career, but this is the first time he has been involved in the preparations for an opening.

'It's a different discipline from running a branch. I've been struck by the extent to which all the various departments from right across the group work so collaboratively and cohesively. At the beginning of the year, the shop was largely a concrete shell. Now we are about to open on budget and two days earlier than originally planned with everything in order and in place.'

Team spirit

For Noel, the single most challenging aspect of opening the new shop is to create a strong team of Partners who will do justice to the Partnership's vision.

'We have to give newcomers to our business a sense not only of being great retailers and shopkeepers delivering outstanding service to customers, but instill in them that extra something we expect from Partners in terms of their commitment to the business.

'They must understand that we are prepared to commit to them as individuals and want them to enjoy all that working for the Partnership brings, but equally we expect that they will make certain commitments to us.'

Around 80 per cent of Partners at Stratford City will be new recruits. 'It is an impressive figure and a testament both to the hard work done by our recruitment team working closely with Newham Council, Westfield and with Skillsmart Retail and to the calibre of local applicants.'

Smart skills

John Lewis has been actively supporting the pre-employment courses for the long-term unemployed designed by Skillsmart Retail (the sector skills council for retail) and delivered by the National Skills Academy through its Retail Skills Shops.

It guaranteed 400 assessment places for people who successfully passed the course. Noel had expected the number of new recruits to be lower at around 50 per cent. Instead, the recruitment team was overwhelmed not just by the number of applicants but by the high standard of those who applied.

Noel wants his new recruits to appreciate that John Lewis offers far more than just a first job but a career path that could take them, as it did Noel, from catering cashier to MD.

'Newham has the second highest level of unemployment in London,' he says. 'We want to get people into jobs first but we want them to understand that they can go on to improve their skills and develop their career prospects in a variety of ways.'

Noel believes that training by transfer in other branches is the best way to instill the Partnership philosophy. 'It is not just getting them ready for the first day of trading but showing people what it is like to be a Partner in a business like the Partnership, where every voice is valued in deciding the direction we want to move the business.

'And the feedback from the new Partners has been phenomenal. We are constantly hearing that their expectations of what it would be like to work for John Lewis have all been met or exceeded.'

Stratford strategy

He sees the Partnership's strategy on jobs as being part of its active involvement in the renewal of the area.

'It's not just about building a shop. It's about the Partnership being true to its principles and being at the heart of the regeneration of the area as well as a vital part of the Olympic Park legacy.'

Noel has been quoted many times calling John Lewis Oxford Street 'a world-class destination'. How does he feel about being in competition with the store that has a turnover double that of its nearest John Lewis rival?

'It is a special shop with the potential to go from strength to strength - especially next year with so much international tourism expected. But the great thing about London is that there is room for more first-class department stores.

'It's been more than 20 years since we built a new John Lewis in the London area (in Kingston) and now is our opportunity to tap into all the potential there is in the East End of London.'

And it is not just the East End that he believes the shop will be serving. The shop should see customers travelling from East Anglia, Essex and Kent as well as other areas of London. This will be helped by the public transport links including the DLR, two Underground lines and overground rail lines. The catchment area is estimated to be four million plus.

Coming back for more

Seventy per cent of the design will be new. Some concepts, such as new technology and menswear, will have been trialled in other branches over the last couple of months. Other elements such as home vision and a new look in catering will be seen at Stratford for the first time.

'It will be a next generation department store combining all the best of the new concepts that have been experimented with and are now maturing, plus some completely new design ideas,' says Noel.

Shaping destiny

Noel has enjoyed his time preparing for opening the new shop but now he is champing at the bit to get back to selling.

'As a shopkeeper, I want to be in my shop with my Partners, seeing the merchandise and talking to customers. I can't wait for opening day when I look into the eyes of my Partners, sense their excitement and know that together we will be shaping the destiny of the new shop.'