What: A new position designed to reinforce the appeal of the John Lewis Partnership at a moment when it is morphing into more than retail.

Why it is important: All retailers need to rethinK and redesign their branding strategy now that it is not possible anymore to rely on customer loyalty and historic weight to generate purchases.

The Jown Lewis partnership has created the first pan-Partnership customer director position, and recruited a veteran from Co-op and previously from the BBC and McCann.

She will be in charge of developing a customer strategy at the partnership level and develop the brand’s customer capability.

John Lewis creates the position of Customer Director