Wouldn't we all be better off working in retail?My firm which has a bonus-centric model can't compete with John Lewis levels.

That's not what I've seen reported. Every media report that I've seen states that this year's bonus is 20%. That shouldn't be beyond any consultancy in a good year, and it's worth noting that this is John Lewis' highest bonus in at a decade, and substantially above the norm.The other thing to bear in mind is that on average salaries at John Lewis are much lower than those in consulting. 20% of not much is not much.

Fair enough - it was 20%. But look at the mix of benefits. Consultancies often make out that they are "a great place to work" and such like. But this kind of thing suggests there is a lot of catching up to do:http://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/item/4100/23/5/370 hours a week plus travel on a high salary isn't much at an hourly rate either.

John Lewis is a "Partnership". I used to live near some managers from John Lewis and I would say that if you are a reasonably intelligent middle of the road type, it is a damend good place to work. It is a bit like a trade union though. lots of people employed to do nothing. this is a company which looks after everyone properly but does not reward many excessively. Cosy life, safety, secure job but never setting the world alight, this is the perfect home. By the way, I started my career in retail. believe me, you do not want to work in retail. Until you reach the top end which (sorry to disappoint you) you would not until you had put in a significant amount of time in stores, it is hell on earth and the hours are just as long as in consulting if you want to get anywhere.

The 20% (in actuality, I think it is 18%) bonus is certainly not ungenerous, but it is also only about £2,600 per person on average. Average salaries for the 70,000 staff are only £13,000 p.a., which suggests there are plenty of staff on much less than that.If I was earning less than £13k and my employer gave me a couple of grand extra, it would make a very substantial difference to my quality of life. As a management consultant with a healthy salary, I'm not sure I would see the effects of a 20% bonus as directly in my quality of life (for a start, much more of it would go to the taxman).However, it does show what kind of difference it makes when everyone is considered to be a partner in the firm. At John Lewis, the 20% bonus applies to everyone and there is proportionally less disparity between the top and bottom of the organisation than you'd find at most professional service firms.

I worked for JL part-time during my degree, a fantastic company to work for... part-time.Ultimately retail is suited to a certain type of person. If we look at the graduate level, a young-whipper snapper would be looking at a Department Manager status after about 18 months on the scheme. A department manager role would pay about.. 30,000? The progression from here however is generally slow.. there is underlying 'age-fit' for roles at John Lewis. Two paths from DM would be a slow rise to a store steering group and then General Manager. Then following a few GM roles, a slow rise to Store Managing Director.Alternatively you could jump on board at John Lewis Head Office and attempt to work your way up there. I do not think the potential speed of progression (in both role and salary) is anywhere near as comparable to top-tier consultantcy businesses. The bonus was nice though :)