Evidence supporting ‘Apprentice of the year 2014’ Timeline of Jen Lovegrove’s major contributions to the Partnership

September 2013: Joined partnership at the Brent Cross store

I started my journey in the partnership at Brent Cross in the Sportswear department.

October 2013: Moved to Oxford Street, Womenswear department

After joining at Oxford Street, it was so different to what I had been used to. I was thrown straight into the deep end to help and lead clearance AW14. Quote from my line manager: ‘The disciplined execution of our floor plans ensured we were well positioned to trade successfully for Peak Christmas Trade. The success for this is clearly measured in the we took record sales in our history for our 1st day of Clearance!’

March/April 2014: Brand dayMy next big project was to plan and host a brand day for all Womenswear partners- this was a huge task, involving a lot of communication with brands outside of John Lewis. There was a huge amount of organisation involved in this day and it paid off as I got excellent feedback from it. It was a very proud moment for me when the day finally arrived; we had buyers, designers, merchandisers and brand consultants turn up for the day to showcase their lines! I got excellent feedback and networked with a lot of people I would never have got the chance to. It has even led to buying office wanting to hold regular brand days and I have been asked to organise another one for our department. Quote from my line manager: ‘To further develop others Jen took the lead in organising a successful Brand Day in branch where 30 key brands were invited to deliver training to all Partners and used the event for Buying Office and the Brands to share with Partners the vision for Spring Summer 2014.’

April/May 2014: Work experience at Victoria

During brand day, I met a buyer from head office who I got in contact with to gain work experience- so if it hadn’t been for brand day I would never have had this amazing opportunity. I spent a week at Victoria, shadowing assistant buyers. I sat in on fittings and previews and got a real flavor for how that side of the business works- I got a glowing report from Zoe. Quote from line manager: ‘Jen established an effective working relationship with Buying Office and was rewarded with work experience at Head Office where she received outstanding feedback and an open door to return whenever she wished.’

July 2014: Clearance SS14

After the fantastic opportunities I have had this year, I finished with taking the lead of the SS14 clearance. A lot of hard work, time, team work and preparation was involved and I promoted a certain area of the shop floor to ensure I could measure the success of the clearance. The results were good, with a positive increase on the clearance area I was promoting. I did this by using the correct signage and changing the layout of the shop floor. Quote from my line manager: ‘These have included playing a lead role in the delivery of our Seasonal Plans for both Autumn Winter 2013 and Spring Summer 2014. In role Jen formulated the critical path necessary to execute our moves to deadline.’

‘Jen has also maintained a high level of

commitment to driving her own

development.’

‘Jen has achieved a vast amount in a relatively short time and firmly established as a key member of the team.’

‘Jen is very open to feedback and acts upon it

to further develop herself.’

‘I am very proud of the achievements that Jen has made over the last year.’

‘We all recognise the contribution that Jen has made as a Partner and her performance on the programme it will only be fitting if we now reward this with the Apprentice of the Year award 2014.’