Over 100 years ago our Founder, John Spedan Lewis, began an experiment into a better way of doing business by including staff in decision making on how the business would be run.
He set out the principles for how the Company should operate and produced a written Constitution to help Partners understand their rights and responsibilities as co-owners.
Spedan Lewis wanted to create a way of doing business that was both commercial, allowing it to move quickly and stay ahead in a highly-competitive industry, and democratic, giving every Partner a voice in the business they co-own. This combination, so ahead of its time, continues to make us what we are today.
Everything begins with the Partnership’s ultimate purpose:
Our Partnership is an ongoing experiment to find happier, more trusted ways of doing business, for the benefit of us all.
We work together to create a successful business and a fairer, more sustainable future for Partners, customers, suppliers and communities.
Our Partnership is owned entirely in trust by Partners which means we are more than employees; we share knowledge, power and profit.
Our Purpose inspires our principles, drives our decisions and acts as our guide.
By putting the happiness of our Partners first, we believe we can better honour our commitment to offer our millions of customers quality products and outstanding service.