John Lewis recruits first group loyalty chief from Tesco

The John Lewis Partnership has appointed its first group head of loyalty, working across John Lewis, John Lewis Finance and Waitrose as it seeks to strengthen its relationships with its claimed 20 million customer-base.

Emily Wells joins from Tesco, where she has been for the past five years, most recently as head of loyalty strategy. Prior to that she worked at hospitality specialist Studio-104 and KPMG Boxwood.

In her new role, Wells will be responsible for developing and launching the group loyalty proposition in 2024 as well as leading and developing My Waitrose and My John Lewis loyalty programmes and teams.

Wells said: “With such a rich brand history and ambitious plans, I look forward to working with the team to deliver great things for our customers and the Partnership as we take the loyalty proposition across Waitrose and John Lewis to the next level.”

The My Waitrose scheme has over 9 million members; My John Lewis has 5 million.

Wells’ appointment comes as the retail giant has also signed new five-year strategic partnerships with DunnHumby and Eagle Eye, aimed at giving customers greater personalisation and loyalty experiences.

The company said the new partnerships will also open up collaboration opportunities with suppliers to support the growth of its JLP Insights & Media service, which runs print advertising in the weekly Waitrose Weekend publication as well as digital placements on JohnLewis.com and Waitrose.com.

John Lewis and pan-partnership customer director Charlotte Lock said: “Today’s announcements show the ambition we have to transform how our much loved brands can deliver a more personalised experience for customers. With Emily’s appointment and our new partnerships with DunnHumby and Eagle Eye, we can better help our customers however, whenever and wherever they shop with us.”