Jen Lovegrove joined the John Lewis partnership in September 2013 and has since made major contributions. She helped lead a successful clearance in her first department. In March/April 2014, she planned and hosted a successful brand day that received excellent feedback. This led to her gaining work experience in the buying office where she also received an outstanding review. Finally, in July 2014 Jen took the lead on another successful clearance by promoting certain areas and changing the layout, which increased sales. Her managers provide multiple positive quotes praising her achievements and contributions over the past year.

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